Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Holding the warm mug in her hands, Regina turned away from the door that Rose had just left through to see Harry watch Wanko place a bracelet on her wrist that he had gotten her. Each bead of polished stone, roughly the size of marbles, glinting in the light. A warm smile on her face, Wanko pulled him close. "Thank you, Little Brother... I like it. It is very... very pretty."

Simply returning the hug, Harry grinned a bit. "Glad that you liked it, Big Sister."

Once they separated, Harry grabbed another box and then brought it over to Regina who gave him a surprised look. "I-is this for me? Really?"

Nodding, Harry grinned a bit. "Yup! I made it myself just for you." As she gently looked it over, he raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Well? Go on and open it, Regina."

A small blush on her face, Regina tore open the wrapping paper before opening the box. For several moments, she stared down at the object inside before reaching in and taking it out. "I... it's so pretty, Harry..."

With his grin now even bigger, Harry shrugged. "It's called a barrette. You use it to keep the hair out of your eyes." Looking down at the polished steel barret with black, shiny gems that were shaped like roses, Harry shrugged. "Here, let me show you."

Still blushing, Regina leaned forward as Harry took her hood and pulled it back to reveal her silver, messy hair. Gently, Harry moved some of her hair and then clipped it into place. Blinking her red eyes, Regina looked at him with a shy smile. "How does it look?"

Head tilting to the side, Harry gave her a thumbs up. "Looks great on you, Regina!" He then dug into the present and pulled out a black bow that had a magnet on it. "And this is for your tail."

Much to Nagato's amusement, said tail seemed to blush before moving forward to allow Harry to place the bow on it's "Head" before he nodded. Looking at her tail, Regina blinked a bit before smiling some. "It does look rather nice on you."

Quickly nodding, Harry smiled some as the tail nuzzled him with him scratching it under it's chin. "Yeah, it really looks good on you." Getting to his feet though, he held out a hand to Regina. "Come on, I want to show you in the mirror."

Taking his hand, Regina got to her feet and followed him out of the room before coming to a full length mirror by the door. At seeing herself though, Regina's eyes widened some and she blushed while playing with some of her hair. The barrette kept some of her hair out of her eyes in the reflection. 'It... it really is pretty...' A soft smile on her face, she turned and gave Harry a hug. "Thank you, Harry." Pausing for a moment, Regina steeled her expression and then kissed him on the head. "I-it really is very pretty."

Snickers made her turn to see Revina grinning up at her. Just as the other Re-Class was about to say something, Hoppou began to spray her with her bottle. "No, that is too silly."

Before Revina could jerk much away, Wanko's hand came down on the Re-Class' head. "Yes, don't... do that. Or... else I will... not let you... go to Hogwarts... with Supprin and... Ooyodo later."

Pouting, Revina crossed her arms and grumbled a bit. Looking between her and Regina, who was twiddling her fingers shyly, Harry tilted his head and said the one thing he could. "Poi?"
__________________________________________________________________

A smile on her face, Rose looked over from her comfortable place in Haruna's lap to Goto. Said Admiral, of course, had Kongou in his lap as the two gathered up their presents and opened them. Head tilted to the side, Rose giggled some. "My word, did you stay over last night?"

There was a bemused look on Haruna's face as the Battleship answered before either Kongou or Goto got the chance. "No, he did not, Rose-Chan. Instead, Onee-Sama stayed over at his place last night."

Sputtering some, Kongou gave Haruna a disbelieving look. "Haruna-Chan!"

However, she froze some at the throat being cleared and turned to see the image of Kirishima on the one of the two laptops open in front of her. On it, Kirishima adjusted her glasses with a small frown as the light reflected off it. "Teitoku, am I to understand that Kongou-Onee-Sama spent the night at your home?" Much to Kongou's horror, Kirishima then took off her glasses and gave Goto a look. "I trust that nothing untoward to Onee-Sama happened?"

Even as a squawk came from Kongou, Goto had a straight expression on his face as he remembered what had happened. And how Kongou had given him an, in her words, "Early Christmas Present." Internally, the image of red underwear trimmed in fur caused him to grin. "I promise you, Kirishima-San, I did nothing untoward in regards to Kongou-Chan."

On the other screen, Hiei gained a smirk and rubbed her chin. "You did nothing untoward, hmm? But did Onee-Sama do anything untoward to you I wonder... Fufufufu."

If Kongou was red before, now she was luminescent. "HIEI-CHAN!" Turning towards Goto, the flustered Battleship twitched a bit. "Aren't you going to say anything!?"

Upon Goto's face there was an expression of deep thought. Finally though, he shrugged. "Nope!"

At the continued sounds from Kongou, Rose smiled and shook her head. 'What a wonderful family this is. I quite like them.' Moments later though, she blinked as Haruna handed her a gift. "Is this for me, Haruna?"

Slowly nodding, Haruna gave her waist a small squeeze. "Hai, it is, Rose-Chan. Haruna made it specifically for you."

A soft smile on her face, Rose nodded some as she began to open the gift. "Thank you, Haruna. I am sure that it is wonder... ful..."

Confused as to why Rose had trailed off, Kongou leaned to the side to better see. "Doilys, Dess! Lace ones as well!" Then the Battleship frowned as she tapped her chin. 'But why would that cause her to freeze? Doilys are part of any tea set after all.'

Meanwhile, Rose swallowed even as she now blushed deeply. Glancing up, she noted Haruna looking at her with a smile. "Does Rose-Chan like Haruna's Doilys?"

Even though she was pleased, Rose only nodded some. "Oh, yes, I like them, Haruna. Very much so, I am just... surprised is all." Internally though, she was more then a little flustered. 'I wonder if Haruna understands what this is to me...'

Her eyes twinking, Haruna smile grew some. "Haruna is happy then that Rose-Chan likes them." Leaning down, she smirked a bit. "Haruna cannot wait to see them used with Rose-Chan's tea set."

Those words caused Rose to widen her eyes before her blush deepened a touch. 'Well... that answers my question I do suppose...' Clearing her throat and ignoring the small grin on Haruna's face, the tsukumogami reached over and grabbed a package beside her before handing it to Goto. "Here, this is for you, Goto."

Gratefully taking it, Goto made short work of the paper even with the Battleship on his lap. Unfolding the navy blue item, he gave a grin as he chuckled. "A greatcoat, thank you Rose-San."

As her blush was finally dying down, Rose nodded. "You are very much welcome, Goto. Hopefully it keeps you warm when it gets chilly and damp around here."

Humming, Kongou leaned over and whispered into her boyfriend's ears with a smirk. "I cannot help but look forward to seeing you standing in it. Especially with how close I am to summoning my hull. Perhaps, you'll stand upon my bridge and-eep!"

Just pulling his fingers away from where he had pinched her on the thigh, Goto smirked right back at her. "And I think that we shall leave that there, hmm?"

Softly snickering at the pout on Kongou's face, Hiei soon turned her attention onto Rose. "Hey! Rose-Chan! Open the present from the rest of us!"

Blinking, Rose glanced around until she found it being held in front of her by Kongou. "We all went in on it, Dess. Hopefully you'll like the meaning."

More then a little confused, Rose took it with a small frown. 'It feels like... clothes?' Opening it, her eyes then widened some as she lifted it out before a grin split her face. "An outfit just like yours! And a headband as well, but..." Rose gasped some as she turned and regarded Kongou, Kirishima, and Hiei through suddenly tear filled eyes. "D-does this mean what I think?"

With a small smile, Kirishima adjusted her glasses . "It does, as a matter of fact."

Extremely happy about the gift, and the meaning behind it, Rose gave a sniffle. "O-oh my... I did not expect this. Thank you all for the kind gift, I shall treasure it. M-my, I... I think that I am being a bit emotional right now." Taking out a napkin from her pocket, Rose dabbed at her eyes as she gave a brilliant smile. "But now I do not know if my gift to each of you will be as good."

Confused, Kongou shared a look with her other sisters before they looked around in their separate places. Eventually, they found the gifts from Rose and as one opened them only to frown at what looked like a quilt inside. Once more glancing at the tsukumogami, they unfolded the quilts, their eyes widening.

And then they gasped and began to get tears in their eyes as they saw the quilts fully.

Shakingly, Kongou held her hand against her mouth as she examined it more closely. It was not a thick quilt, but it was the picture on it that caused the reaction from all of them. The quilt had the picture of all four Kongou sisters as ships sailing in formation on the sea. Slowly, Kongou lowered her hand before she spoke with a voice thick with emotion. "Rose-Chan... this is... Thank you. Thank you so much for this."

Blushing, Rose twiddled her fingers some before nodding as the other two Kongous gave their opinions which was much the same as their eldest sister. "You are very welcome. I made one for Haruna as well, but... I had a different present as well for her."

With that, she reached over and handed Haruna a small box which the Battleship opened with trembling hands. Seeing a pink, metal heart shaped locket with a silver anchor, Haruna turned to Rose who smiled shyly and gestured for her to open it. When she did so, Haruna's boilers sputtered. It was obvious that it was one of those lockets that had multiple pictures inside. But there, at the very front, was a portrait of all four Kongou sisters taken just the previous year. Haruna was at the front of the picture with the others surrounding her. "R-Rose-Chan... this is..."

A smile on her face, Rose nodded some. "I remember that you and your sisters took those pictures last year. And how each of you had a different one with each on in the center. This way, you can wear them close to your heart." Cheeks flushing, Rose looked down. "And, the locket is made from a special kind of gold known as, well... Rose gold."

Leaning to get a better view, Kongou gasped happily as she knew what this meant to her sister. "O-oh, Haruna-Chan. That is so beautiful."

However, Haruna could only stare at the locket before turning to Rose and cupping her cheek. Before the tea set could do much more then blink, she drew their faces together in a rather heated kiss. Pulling away, Haruna could only smile at the starry eyed look in her girlfriend's eyes before shifting her off her lap. "Haruna needs Rose-Chan to wait here for a moment. Haruna had a gift that she was going to wait to give once Haruna was alone with Rose-Chan. Her real gift, but Haruna cannot wait."

Once Rose was able to think after the kiss she was given, she noticed that Kongou was now giving her a look. "I... What does she mean by real gift?"

Smirking a bit, the British born returnee shook her head. "Haruna-Chan it seems played like Rose-Chan did and got two gifts. And I think that I have an idea as to what is the second, Dess."

Before Rose could say anything, Haruna returned and held out a wrapped object. "Here, Rose-Chan, Haruna made this. It's also for Rose-Chan's tea set as Haruna noticed she didn't have one."

Intrigued, Rose unwrapped it and blinked at the steel chest that was there. Opening it, she blinked again as she realized that the way it was designed was to hold a tea set inside. Hand running along the steel, Rose frowned. 'But why does it feel like...' Her eyes then widened and her face shot up to look at a blushing Haruna. "Haruna... is this...? Is this made from what I think...?"

Haruna slowly nodded. "When Haruna was salvaged after Haruna sank, pieces of... of Haruna were left behind in the seabed. Haruna got help from Haru-San and Ryuujou-San to use divination to find those pieces and then..." With a deep breath, the Battleship continued. "Haruna used those pieces to make a chest to hold Rose-Chan's tea set in when not in use. That way, it is safe as a piece of Haruna is protecting her." Slowly lifting her head, Haruna stared into Rose's shocked face with a glistening in her eyes. "Always."

Moments later, she found her arms full of crying tsukumogami as Rose kissed every part of her face. "O-oh, Haruna! Haruna, I love you, I love you so very much." Planting one kiss on Haruna's lips, Rose muttered around it. "And I always know that you'll protect me."

As the two fell back to the floor, a happy Kongou only sighed. 'I am so happy!' Leaning against Goto, she felt her face hurt from the smile on her face. 'Myself and my sisters have all found, or are finding love. Thanks to the Kami who have allowed us to come back...'

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking into the mess hall, Harry glanced at the Christmas trees in one corner and frowned. 'Huh... the monkeys are playing Jingle Bells, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer and...' He blinked for a moment. 'Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer? That's a new one.' Quickly shaking it off, Harry turned and waved as he spotted the Akatsuki Sisters walking around in elf costumes. Like the year before, they had various pitchers on their heads. "Inazuma-Chan! Akatsuki-Chan! Ikazuchi-Chan! Hibiki-Chan!"

All four turned and their expressions lightened up as they walked over with Verniy in the lead. "Harry-Chan." Reaching him, she leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Merry Christmas."

With a blink, Ikazuchi leaned over to Inazuma and sighed as she whispered. "She's still a kissing fiend, I see."

However, and without her expression changing, Inazuma elbowed her sister in the side. "Stop that." Turning towards Harry, she watched as Akatsuki placed a pitcher of mulled punch onto Harry's head. "Merry Christmas, Harry-Chan. Here, we got your presents!"

Eyes lighting up, Harry took the offered gifts and opened them one by one while thanking them. He did blink though at Verniy's which were leather gloves with half the fingers cut off. More then that, they felt slightly heavier then normal. "Um, Hibiki-Chan?"

Glancing around, Verniy leaned in and coughed. "That is to protect you, Harry-Chan." At his confused look, she shook her head. "It's a weighted knuckle glove, Harry-Chan. There's powdered steel in the knuckles and back of the fingers. So that it'll hurt you less if you need to punch something."

His eyes widening, Harry turned them over, but it was Inazuma who spoke up. "Uh, I hate to ask... But is that even legal for him? I mean, it's cool and all that, but still..."

Lips curling upwards, Verniy nodded. "Da, they are legal, I checked."

A smile on his face, Harry gently hugged her so as to not disturb the pitchers on their heads. "Thank you, Hibiki-Chan." Reaching into the expanded bag at his side, he pulled out his own gifts and handed them to DesDiv6 except for Verniy. "Here you girls go."

Opening hers, Akatsuki gave a gasp of joy. "Wow! Look at these leather gloves! They're so soft and lady-like!"

Beside her, Inazuma and Ikazuchi grinned as they felt their new silk scarves. "Hwawawawa! This is so cool, Harry-Chan! Silk scarves, Nanodesu!"

With a nod, Harry smiled back at her. "Yup! I found a spell that could gather up silk from spider webs and use it. There was all kinds of webs during the fall that I was using." Then to their surprise he became nervous and slowly pulled out a long gift. "Um, Hibiki-Chan? I just want you to know that I found this in the storage at my family's property before I found out about your Kai Ni and, um, I thought that you would like it."

Slowly, Verniy took it with a nod and a curious look in her eyes. Tearing off the paper, she furrowed her eyebrows at the polished wood box. Part of her recognized it as being similar to the one that her mother kept Waterline in when on base and not carrying it around. Opening it though, Verniy's eyes widened in surprise. "Harry-Chan... is this..."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Harry chuckled as he nodded slightly. "Um, yes? It's a Shashka, Hibiki-Chan."

Gently, Hibiki removed the scabbarded blade from the box before handing the now empty container to Ikazuchi. Unnnoticed by her, several people had noticed and were now watching as she slid the blade out a touch to examine. For some odd reason, she could feel a deep thrum in the blade. One that stated that it wanted to be used and to protect it's owner.'

Unknown to her, thousands of miles away in the Russian wild, an old looking woman narrowed her eyes and looked east in the pre-dawn light. Briefly, she touched her cheek and ran one crooked, clawed finger down a scar that ran down it before smiling. "How very strange that now that blade has reappeared, hmm? And after all these centuries. Interesting... And here I thought that it was lost after that man's great nephew stole it and went west. Heh... Such a shame that it never became a legend after he used it to rescue his sister from me. But perhaps this time it shall."

Shaking her head, the woman gave a cackle and walked back into her house. Minutes later, said house rose up on chicken legs and headed northeast. After all, there was a group of troublesome wizards that just did not get the hint to leave her alone to her own business. A bothersome issue that she needed dealt with.

Back in Japan, Verniy blinked and felt a shiver run down her back before shrugging it off. Reaching up, she plucked the pitcher on her head off and handed it to Inazuma who backed up as her sister fully freed the sword from the sheath it had been in. With plenty of room around her, Verniy took a deep breath before letting it out and going into motion. As she moved, the blade in her hands sliced through the air and sang as the light flashed from it. Various people had their eyebrows raising as the white haired Destroyer became a blur until she finally slowed and then stopped. "Very nice..." Walking over to the table, she took a napkin and dropped it on the sword's blade.

And then nodded as the napkin was sliced in half.

Sheathing it, she adjusted her belt and slid the sword in before turning back to Harry with a bright smile on her face. "Harry-Chan... thank you. It's perfect."

Now relaxing some, Harry smiled back at her. "Well, that's good to hear. Anyways, um, it's goblin steel so it won't break and from what I read, it absorbs that which can make it stronger. So I guess that it'll only get stronger from here on. Oh! And it's name is 'Zhar-ptitsa', so it's like it was made for you, Hibiki-Chan."

Unable to help herself, Verniy blushed some as she glanced down at the blade while Tenryuu walked over. Coming to a stop close by Harry, Tenryuu smiled down at him with a chuckle. "Well, I suppose that you got it for her since I got my sword, Tatsuta has her glaive, while Ami and Aki have their anchors." Frowning a moment later, she hummed a bit. "So what does the name mean?"

Grinning, Harry looked up at her best that he could without toppling the pitcher of punch on his head. "It means 'Firebird'. Like I said, it's perfect for Hibiki-Chan!"

Arms waving in the air, Inazuma had a bright smile on her face. "Hwawawawa! Oh my Kami, Hibiki-Chan! Harry-Chan's right, that is perfect for you!

Silent, Verniy took a deep breath before she walked over with a smile on her face. Then she pulled Harry into a hug and kissed him on the cheek though Tenryuu raised an eyebrow at how close it was to his mouth. "Da, it is." Tightening the hug, Verniy smiled as she placed her cheek against his. "Thank you, Harry-Chan."

Even though for some odd reason her hug was making him feel a bit odd, Harry mentally shrugged it off and hugged her back. After all it was similar to other odd feelings he had gotten around his female friends recently. "I'm glad that you liked it, Hibiki-Chan. Really, really happy."

That only made Verniy smile happily at him.
______________________________________________________________________________

Walking in, Natsumi blinked as she scanned the room. Part of her did note though that as soon as they spotted Hoppou, her younger sisters ran off. However, just the same, it did not take long for Natsumi to spot her target and walk over. "Harry-Chan! Harry-Chan, over here!" A smile on his face, Harry turned and waved at her before moving through the crowd. Part of the kitsune was amused that her friend had a partially empty pitcher of punch on his head. It did not help matters that he was easily able to maneuver his way through the crowd without disturbing said pitcher. 'I wonder how Harry-Chan and the Akatsuki sisters do that...'

Upon reaching her, Harry gave her a hug which she returned. "Merry Christmas, Natsumi-Chan. Hopefully your day is going great."

As she smiled back, Natsumi only nodded. "Hai, my day is actually going well." With another glance around her expression became nervous. "Anyways, we should probably get out of the way. You know, so that no one will bump into us."

Only nodding after a moment of thought, Harry shrugged a bit. "Sure, how about right over there?"

Glancing in the direction given, Natsumi relaxed some as it was sort of out of the way. "Sure, that looks good. Come on."

Just being dragged along, Harry chuckled some before he noticed something. "Wait, where's Haru-San and your parents?"

There was a sheepish look on Natsumi's face as she weakly chuckled. "Oba-Chan is still recovering from the other day. And, um... they were hanging back to talk about something." Some redness rose in her cheeks as she remembered a bit she had managed to catch. 'About the two of us...' Shaking that off, Natsumi shrugged a bit. "Guess that we'll just have to exchange our gifts without them being here."

Frowning some, Harry gave her a knowing look. "Yes... I suppose that we should." Only shaking his head, he pointed at the pitcher on his head and hummed. "Want some mulled punch? It's still pretty fresh."

With a blink, Natsumi looked up at said punch and then licked her lips some. "Sure, I'll have some punch." She watched as he poured some into a cup as she looked around with a small frown. "Wait a second... where are the Submarines?"

His pouring finished, Harry placed the pitcher back onto his head and handed the cup to Natsumi. "They're out doing a surprise training patrol with the Ha-101s that got summoned recently. But I'll be meeting them later to give them their presents and vice versa." Scratching his cheek, he frowned a bit. "Hopefully they like them."

Sipping her drink, Natsumi shook her head before giving a snort. "Harry-Chan, I am sure that they'll love your presents. I know that I always do." The two simply chatted with each other as Natsumi sipped her drink. Finally, she was finished with it and tossed it into a nearby garbage bin. "Ten points!"

Unable to help himself, Harry snickered at his friend before shaking his head slightly. "And still reigning champion, Ono Natsumi-Chan!"

A large grin on her face, Natsumi winked at him before snickering back. "And don't you forget it." Calming down, she glanced around before leaning in. "Anyways, we should be exchanging gifts now."

Before Harry could say anything though, Haru's voice spoke up from beside them. "Oh my, Natsumi-Chan. Wanting to exchange gifts without your family here." Horrified, Natsumi turned to see her aunt tutting before the older kitsune turned to her sister. "The young are so impatient, aren't they Nee-Chan?"

If Natsumi could in her human disguise, she would have flatted her ears at the amused look in her mother's eyes. But on her face was a mock look of disappointment as she shook her head. "A sad fact, it would seem... Unless there was another reason that our dear Natsumi-Chan was in such a rush..."

All Natsumi could do was wince as one thought went through her head. 'Busted.'

Highly amused, Haru turned to Harry and gave him a small bow. "Good morning, Harry-Chan. And Merry Christmas."

Bowing back slightly, Harry grinned up at her. "Merry Christmas, Haru-San, Sakuya-San." He then looked around. "Um, where is Kensuke-San and Taichi-San?"

There was a small smile on Sakuya's face as she shook her head. "My husband and son are currently trying to round up my youngest two, I believe. But in the meantime, I think that you have gifts to exchange."

While Harry dug into his bag, Natsumi gave her mother a pleading look. But all she got back was a smirk from both her mother and aunt. Thankfully for Natsumi though, Harry pulled out a box and handed it to Haru who took it gratefully. Opening it, she smiled a bit at what was inside. "A wizarding heater! It has been a while since I saw such a thing."

Looking into the box, Natsumi frowned and blinked at what looked like a sealed vase in it. Near the neck there was what looked like holes that were currently shuttered. "What is that, Oba-Chan?"

In reply, Haru raised an finger and nodded. "It's a space heater of sorts common in magical households, Natsumi-Chan. You open the vents and it expells warm, heated air into the room. Not quite central heating, but one of these should warm quite a bit of our home." Placing it back into the box, Haru gave Harry a one armed hug. "Thank you."

Meanwhile, Sakuya opened her own gift and raised an eyebrow as she looked at it. "Reynard the Fox? A rather... interesting gift."

Shrugging, Harry chuckled some as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, Natsumi-Chan stated that you were a writer. She also said that you liked kitsune stories, so... it's a book I found based on even older stories."

A smirk crossed Sakuya's face at that as she shared a look with Haru. "I see. Thank you then, Harry-San. I am sure that I'll find it interesting."

Harry kept smiling as he reached into his bag and then pulled out another box which he handed to Natsumi. "Here you go, Natsumi-Chan. This is your gift."

Even though she was blushing some, Natsumi took the present gratefully and quickly opened it. However, she found herself confused and, if she was honest with herself, somewhat disappointed with what she found inside. "Ribbons?"

Not having really taken much note of her disappointment, Harry nodded. "Yeah, hair ribbons. You know how Mikos have ribbons in their hair?"

Glancing at him, Natsumi nodded and so missed the slightly widened eyes her aunt had. "Yeah? I mean, I am a Miko, Harry-Chan."

Before Harry could say anything though, Haru just snorted. "Miko in training."

Ignoring how Natsumi was giving Haru a look now, Harry smiled a bit. "Right, anyways I made those ribbons myself." Natsumi was about to say something when Harry contnued and any reply she had simply died. "Took a bit to get all the unicorn tail hairs for them though."

Utter silence met him as Sakuya looked from him to the ribbons and back. She could note now that while some seemed white, others were golden and a few silver. "Unicorn tail hairs? Woven together into ribbons?"

Only nodding, Harry smiled up at her. "Hai! I gathered them myself for the most part." He then scratched his head. "According to Hagrid, there's always far too much for Ollivander to use in his wands. And he only uses the ones from the oldest members of the herd too, so the others were available. I got a bunch from various ones including the younger members, which is why some are gold."

Right then was when Harry noticed how quiet all three females had gotten and blinked as Natsumi stared down at the hair ribbons. Then she spoke in a very quiet voice. "... Oh." When he didn't get any more of a reaction for almost a minute, Harry was about to say something when Natsumi handed the box to her aunt. "Oba-Chan, hold onto this for me for a moment."

Gently nodding, Haru did so as she looked down at the ribbons. "I will."

Looking between them, Harry realized that Sakuya had grabbed the pitcher of juice and was now holding it right before Natsumi grabbed him in a hug that drove the breath from his lungs. Then she closed her eyes and sniffled a bit. "Thank you, Harry-Chan." With a smile on her face, she turned and gave him a kiss on the cheek which made them both blush. "Thank you."

Meanwhile, a silent conversation was going on between Haru and Sakuya as the two shook their heads at the children in front of them.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

All of a sudden, I'm imagining the Japanese magical government discovering Natsumi's family and trying to force them onto a preserve, only to get the stinkeye from their friends. The Nagato family, and the gang at Yokosuka, and the allied Abyssals.

In other news, I thought this snippet would be longer.
Post Fight

-----

They were sitting by the training area, watching Wakaba arc between obstacles and bullseye targets when the girls that they'd left behind caught up to them. Mamiya pulled herself to her feet and turned to face them. Then she stopped. Tohda and Hoshikawa were walking on either side of Nagawa with staccato gaits that Mamiya feared indicated anger. By the way that Hoshikawa was specifically Not Looking at Tohda, it seemed likely that they had had a disagreement. Nagawa's head was lowered slightly, and from where Mamiya was standing it seemed that her eyes were rimmed red—she must have been crying she reasoned, especially with the way she had broken down upon seeing her sister. Mutsu followed a few feet behind, looking worriedly over the three of them.

So Hoshikawa and Tohda had argued, Mamiya reasoned, and Mutsu had been unable to prevent them… and they had stopped when Nagawa began to cry? That seemed a likely explanation. But what could the two of them have argued about? Despite being Clubmates, the two didn't associate very often. Perhaps they had disagreed on Nagawa's treatment? Tohda was the second of eight children, soon to be nine, so she probably had ideas about how to better help Nagawa in her time of need. Hoshikawa, being more familiar with Nagawa, must have rejected her suggestions. But then why would Tohda become so heated? The occasional sarcastic comment aside, Tohda was not one to lose her temper. Hoshikawa must have been rude in her rejection.

But then, why did neither listen to Mutsu? She was a figure that the both of them respected, was she not? Perhaps they had left the area to have their discussion somewhere else? But what caused Nagawa to cry? Mamiya clenched her teeth in frustration. She didn't have the full picture, and without it she lacked the ability to make sense of the situation as a whole.

"What's up?" Hoshikawa asked, catching Mamiya's attention. She hid it well, but Mamiya caught the hints of venom in her voice. There had definitely been an argument, a bad one. Beyond that, however, she simply could not make sense of things. In any case, she saw no reason not to answer her question.

"After we arrived here, our tour guides saw fit to rest and wait for you to catch up," she said, nodding towards the Destroyer Division 6 girls. The only one who noticed was Inazuma, who smiled and waved in return. She then turned her attention back to the same object as the other three girls—Wakaba, who sent up a gout of water with her latest turn. Mutsu frowned and stepped towards the water.

"Wakaba!" she called out, waving. The destroyer girl slowed to a stop and nearly pirouetted on the water to face her. Around them, the other members of the Tracking Club looked up at the new arrivals. "Lean into the turns a little less, and spread your outside leg more. Don't try to push off of the water like that!" Wakaba spun back towards the next post in the water, and jetted forward once more. Leaning to her right slightly, she spread her left leg out, brought her right leg in, and arced gently around the post. Pulling to a stop, she looked back pensively, as if not entirely satisfied with the turn. Nonetheless, she turned back to Mutsu and gave a thumbs-up. She then resumed skating around. Mutsu sighed, and turned to the Destroyer Division 6 girls.

"There you go," she said, smiling slightly. Mamiya recalled a similar expression on her aunt after she had been dragged onto her first rollercoaster. "Ushio and her two friends, as ordered." Akatsuki, the black-haired one, stamped forward to face the battleship directly.

"Just as ordered?" she squeaked. "Just look at them! They look—ow! Hey!" Hibiki lowered the hand that she had just slapped Akatsuki on the back of the head with. Silently, she shook her head at her sister, who subsided however sulkily. A movement in the corner of Mamiya's eye caught her attention, and she turned towards Tohda. Nothing, it seemed. Had she made some sort of grateful gesture to the destroyer?

Wait. Would Ashida show similar impropriety? Mamiya looked over her shoulder at the suntanned girl, but fortunately, she was just looking between Tohda and Hoshikawa nervously.
-----

Mutsu wasn't sure, but walking the three girls back to the rest of their Tour Group had been one of the most nerve-wracking experiences in the past week—and she had been physically present when Tanya had made her demand. Part of it was the certainty that the two girls had fought. Although Tohda Saki at least tried to keep herself composed, the girl named Hoshikawa made no attempt to hide the emotions that seemed to be coursing through her. She wanted to grab the both of them, shake them, demand to know what they were thinking even after seeing their friend's condition, but whatever she felt, it didn't seem like it would do any good.

So they had walked through the barracks like that, with the object of their rivalry separating them. Mutsu had discretely radioed Kongou to see if she could help, but her friend turned out to be trying to console some of the Ayanami girls. With no help forthcoming, the four of them had continued to the training area thus.

And after a closely prevented outburst from Akatsuki, the whole thing had nearly been ripped open again. That, Mutsu decided, was not something that could be allowed to happen.

"Say girls," she said brightly, looking at the four of them. "Could I have a moment of your time?" They looked amongst themselves, then Inazuma stepped forward. "No, all of you. This is important."

The Desdiv 6 girls shared looks again, then Ikazuchi turned back to the club president. "Hey, make sure nobody leaves without us. Ya hear?" The girl nodded.

"Say what needs to said," she replied. "We will wait." Ikazuchi nodded curtly, and the four destroyers turned to follow Mutsu.

Mutsu lead them away toward the barracks, Ikazuchi casting concerned glances back over her shoulder towards where they left their charges. Finally, as they entered the building, she shut the door behind them.

"Okay, what's going on here?" Ikazuchi demanded. "Why were those two fighting?"

"I don't know," Mutsu replied. "Miss Tohda asked Miss Hoshikawa to follow her away. A little while later, Miss Tohda came back, and they've been like that since. Now listen—" she continued, cutting the destroyers off. "I know that this project is one that you've been preparing for over a week, but you need to be careful around those two."

"We can tell that, Mutsu," Inazuma said.

"Yes, Akatsuki just proved that," Mutsu said flatly. Akatsuki had the good grace to look ashamed. "Allow me to reiterate. Those two girls? They are going to be a minefield. So give them space."
-----

Whatever it was that Mutsu had told Desdiv 6, the result didn't change how uncomfortable the rest of the tour ended up being. Saki and Umi's mutual anger was so palpable that their proximity to Ushio had left her squirming uncomfortably the entire walk through.

And they were sitting at her sides now, in the mess hall where the tour had ended so that the girls could eat lunch. The fact that Akagi was eating there was admittedly a bonus—the Tracking Club got to watch in awe as the carrier demolished a plate wider than the table and taller than any two of them put together. If only in had mitigated the anger she was feeling from her friends.

Though, looking back, before Umi had returned… Saki hadn't looked or sounded angry. In Ushio's eyes, she had seemed sadder than anything.

Wonderful. Now she felt even more confused.

And helpless. The feeling in her stomach was definitely one of helplessness. Saki and Umi were her friends! There had to be something—anything—that she could do for them. But all that she could really tell about their argument was that their disagreement had been (she bit back a feeling of self-loathing) about her.

Oh, look. Yae and Ikazuchi were mock-fighting on top of one of the tables. Ushio couldn't feel any amusement from it.
-----

The food here, she thought, was awful.

She had heard the humans and the Shipgirls talk, arguing about what to feed her and if it would make her ill. Fools—Abyssals were made of stronger stuff than that. Anything a Shipgirl could eat an Abyssal could.

The one cruiser had discussed it with Norihara.

When? When would she meet her again? When would she receive her answer? Where was Norihara? Was she thinking of her? Looking out at the sky, wondering about the sudden change in her morning, like nothing that would ever happen again? Or was she simply treating the humans, having already forgotten? That possibility brought an odd feeling of sorrow. She shook off the feeling, and scanned the room, taking in the guards—still the same battleships—Yamashiro and Haruna. Tables had been moved around. The ceiling was the same, silver color.

By the depths, she was bored. Maybe she should just take a nap?
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

And now for, once again, for snippet!
Start Cooling

-----

The day was sunny and clear, and according to the forecast the weather would continue to be so until the late evening. Looking out at the ocean through his office window, Goto saw no reason to doubt what they said. It was something to be glad about in an ironic way, he supposed. On this day with an Abyssal, a Natural-Born, a tour group, and the usual antics from the bored girls, it was nice to at least have good weather.

The door opened and closed behind him, and he looked over his shoulder. Behind him, Ooyodo stood holding a tea tray. She held it out to him, and he gratefully took the steaming mug from her. She tucked it under her arm and bowed respectfully. Goto turned back to the view. When the door didn't open, he looked back. Ooyodo was standing in front of the door, looking at it as if she were hesitating to open it and return to work.

"Is there a problem, Ooyodo?" he asked, turning to his desk and gently setting the mug down. She turned to face him, head down slightly.

"My apologies, sir," she said. "I was simply wondering… have you decided about the Abyssal yet?" Goto smiled. Was that all that she was worried about?

"I do have one idea that I'm probably going to go with," he admitted. "For now, I'm going through alternatives, possible outcomes, the like." Ooyodo turned her gaze up, giving him a questioning look. "This decision is not one that I can afford to make lightly. I need to be absolutely certain that what I'm going to do is the best choice that I can make."

Ooyodo did not look entirely thrilled at his statement, but then she'd been the one who had wanted to completely ignore Tanya's request. She bowed, then stepped out the door. Goto scooped up his drink, and turned his attention back to the weather.
-----

Saki stopped at the door to the house, and Ushio looked up from where she was sitting at the engawa. She leaned back, looking up the street and Ushio began to worry.

"Yeah," Saki sighed, "I'm gonna step out for a bit. Find a vending machine or something. Tell Kaichou for me, will you?" She was going out alone after such a bad argument? Ushio pulled herself to her feet.

"Wait, are you sure?" she asked, her voice wavering. Saki gave her a cock-eyed smile that did little to assuage her fears.

"It's fine," she reassured her. "I just need to cool off a bit." She reached up and placed a hand on Ushio's head, ruffling her hair. Ushio found herself pouting, and tried her best to hide the expression. "Sorry about ruining the tour for you."

"But you didn't—I mean," Ushio attempted, but Saki had already turned and was walking away. Ushio felt like crying. She knew that Saki wasn't feeling alright, so why did she have to go and play it off like that? She wasn't a guy!

"Is everything okay, Nagawa-san?" Ushio looked up to see Umi's face inches away from her own. Her constant companion was looking worriedly at her, and Ushio could tell why—the shock at Umi's sudden closeness had nearly caused her to fall over backwards. Fortunately, she regained her balance and leaned back down to finish untying her shoes.

"I need to go talk to the President," she replied pulling them off and swinging her feet up over the lip of the floor. "Tohda-san's looking for a vending machine or something, and—" She stopped, realizing who she had brought up to Umi. Looking back at her, her friend's face was now stretched into an unnatural smile.

"Ah, that's Tohda-san for you!" she said in a tone that was probably meant to sound cheerful. Given how forced it was, it sounded a single step away from screaming in rage and frustration. "Always running off when she's needed!"

That wasn't true. Ushio hadn't been around Saki so frequently before the school trip, but the redhead had proven herself to be a more than capable person. Umi had actually praised her for several moments of insight she had had. If it hadn't been for her advice, Ushio wouldn't have realized what the course of action that she meant to—had to—take was. And Umi…

"… This isn't like you," she said under her breath.

"Huh? Did you say something, Nagawa-san?" Umi asked. Ushio ignored her, and stood. She turned and walked away, ignoring Umi as she called after her. As best she could, anyways.
-----

It didn't take long to find a vending machine. It was only three or four houses away, a literal stone's throw from the place they were staying. Honestly, though, Saki wished that it was farther.

Honestly, what was Umi's problem? She had to know that Namiko was starting to move beyond her ability to aid. Acting like nothing had changed helped her adjust to what was going on, but the choices Namiko faced were not ones that could be made for her.

Oh hey, cola. Saki dug through her wallet, dumping a few hundred-yen coins into her hand. She slid them into the coin slot, made her selection, and waited as the can of sugary carbonated liquid dropped into the slot. Idly, she remembered Chidori complaining about having their little brother taken from her, and her own half-joking words.

"If you carry Yu-chan around all day, he'll never learn to walk!" she had said.

See, that's what was going on there! Namiko needed to walk on her own now, but Umi was determined that she carry her friend. And a Namiko who couldn't stand was a Namiko who couldn't do anything. Umi's desire to protect her was going to hurt her. Hurt them both, possibly. And Umi…

Why was Umi being so blasted proud? What was she trying to prove? Did she even care about Namiko beyond stroking her own ego, by being her protector? Saki gripped the tab tightly, and yanked, setting her drink hissing angrily. She threw her head back, almost pouring the cola down her throat. Then she lowered it and coughed, doubling over and glaring at the can. She imagined the can looking innocently back at her.

Saki could understand trying to stand by her emotionally. To cheer her on when she needed encouragement, laugh with her in moments of joy, and support her when she fell. But treating her like a child who couldn't think or speak for herself? That would just smother Namiko as she tried to grow, well-meant or not.
-----

The funny thing was, Umi had actually been feeling slightly better. And then Namiko had brought up Saki, and all the anger had come back to her. She stalked over toward the table, and sat down, looking at the small vase that sat at the center, with small, lacy white flowers in it.

Why did Saki tell her that she couldn't protect Namiko? Umi had seen a boy ask her if she wanted to go out together once. It had been obvious that he was trying to prey on her shyness, and she had stepped in immediately. A no-holds-barred tongue-lashing had driven the would-be bully away. Yes, Namiko was stronger physically now, but that didn't translate to emotional strength! Umi could tell that she still needed someone to stand by her and protect her heart! Saki was smart, Umi knew that. Why couldn't she see that?

Slumping down with her chin on the table, Umi reached out and tapped the vase, creating a tiny clink-ing sound. And now Namiko had run away from her, ignoring her entreaties. Did Saki say something to her? Was she trying to make her distrust her? Why would she even do that, beyond her own misguided attempt to make Umi leave her alone?

Namiko needed someone who would stand by her, now more than ever. Why didn't Saki see that?

Her hand wrapped around the vase and she lifted it. Jumping from her seat, she whirled toward the wall and lifted it over her head. Flowers fell, and water poured down her arm, and she stopped, lowering it. With a sigh, she leaned down to pick up the flowers.
-----

Two new battleships walked into the room. After a quiet conversation, Haruna and Yamashiro left. The two new girls took their places standing stoically.

She was still bored.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 27: S0ngD0g13

A Quandary in Kure...
.......................................

Kaylee paced her room, the light glancing off the airsoft revolver in her hand; the recently-Awakened Shipgirl had a quandary on her hands...

While her body sat down on her bed and spun her airsoft Navy by reflex and nervous habit, CSS Virginia's mind drifted inward in meditation, to walk her own decks and consult with her crew.

"I'm a Confederate warship, but there's no longer a Confederate States of America, and thus no Confederate Navy," she said as her body stilled and her mental-self leaned forward to rest her elbows on the breech of a 9" Dahlgren.

"Before you were an ironclad, you were a screw frigate," posited Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan, her first CO after her rebuild as an ironclad. "Could be you could take up that commission, though I know not whether you'd have to revert in name and be USS Merrimack again."

Virginia shook her head. "Do you see any Federals aboard, Sir? For all I was built on her bones and carry her engines, there's none of Merrimack in me. I am wholly Virginia, Sir." As she spoke, her native East-Tennessee accent shifted and became slightly more akin to that of coastal Virginia.

"Could you not act independently, perhaps under Letter of Marque?" asked her XO, Lieutenant Jones. "As you said, you are a Confederate warship."

Virginia shifted her position and paced along the length of her deck for a short while, deep in thought. "When the Confederacy took Norfolk the Federals scuttled Merrimack rather than see her captured, as the channel had been blocked by light-ships sunk there. When the Union re-took Norfolk, I was scuttled rather than be captured since I wasn't seaworthy enough to break the blockade, and too deep-drafted even after dumping fuel and ballast to escape up the James River. It was you who set the powder-train alight, Catesby."

"Aye."

"Had I not been scuttled, the Yankees would've likely put me in commission under their flag, with a Federal crew..." She paused, briefly. "The Abyssals are a threat to all of us. They're the most diabolically-literal example of Hostis Humani Generis ever seen, certain-few individuals notwithstanding. And let's face it, whether I'm a ship of the United States of America or of the Confederate States of America, I was and am and always will be an American warship. I have a plan, Gentlemen. Gather the crew; I'll not press them into a task unwilling..."

........................................

That morning a flurry of messages whipped back-and-forth between Kure and Sasebo. That afternoon Kaylee, accompanied by her uncle and cousin, Houshou, and Kotetsu, entered Sasebo. Once there, the Shipgirls entered the water and sailed out a short distance, where they were met by Jintsuu, and Arizona.

James and Jaw stood next to Jane Richardson, the elder McAmis in his Dress Blues and the younger in his NJROTC uniform; the Admiral's daughter commonly called 'Sasebo's Littlest Ensign' wore a Navy-Blue dress, a black peacoat, and a white combo-cover.

Virginia stepped forward, and Arizona met her. The ironclad took a breath. "Miss Arizona, I am Confederate States Ship Virginia. I was commissioned on the Seventeenth of February, 1862, in Norfolk, Virginia, and scuttled off Craney Island, Virginia, on the Eleventh of May that same year. I was scuttled while still in commission to the Confederate Navy, Miss Arizona, and it leaves me with a quandary; I am a warship without a navy."

Virginia's crew filed out onto her outer deck and formed into ranks. "I was a Confederate warship, but before all else I am an American warship, and the current hostilities endanger Northerner and Southron alike; my honor won't allow me to sit idly by. Provided I and my crew are commissioned into the United States Navy under my current name, I am prepared to surrender myself into Federal custody as a Prize of War."

Arizona nodded. From the hem of her uniform a launch departed, crossing to Virginia. A Fairy in Admiral's uniform stood, saluted the Confederate Ensign, boarded; Jane, seeing both Ship and Girl, heard the call as the Admiral was rang aboard, "Battleship Division One, US Navy, Arriving!"

....................................

Aboard Virginia, her final CO, Flag Officer Josiah Tattnall, ceremoniously offered his sword to Admiral Isaac Kidd. "I surrender my vessel, Sir."

Kidd accepted the sword with equal gravity. "I accept your surrender, with full Honors, Flag Officer Tatnall. You may proceed."

Tatnall gave the order to strike the Confederate colors, and both crews, as well as the Japanese ships witnessing and the trio on-shore, came to attention and saluted as the Stars and Bars came down, Arizona's band on her deck playing The Bonnie Blue Flag, the unofficial Confederate National Anthem. They held that salute as the Stars and Stripes was raised, Virginia's band playing Star-Spangled Banner.

Admiral Kidd offered Tatnall his sword back afterward. "You and your crew served your nation with honor; I for one welcome you to the United States Navy."

Everyone watched as Isaac Kidd reached out and shook Josiah Tatnall's hand...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

There was a small smile on Niiyodo's face as she sipped her eggnog and looked around the room. Seeing people she cared for up and about and simply celebrating the holidays? Living? It made all the work her and Ooyodo had done to set this up worth every bit. And now she could just stand back and watch as she relaxed. All of a sudden though she blinked as she heard a familiar voice call out. "Niiyodo-Chan!"

With a smile growing on her face, she turned to see Harry walking up to her. "Harry-Chan." Opening her arms, she hugged him which was something that he returned. "Merry Christmas."

A large smile on her face, Harry grinned back at her. "Merry Christmas to you too, Niiyodo-Chan. Are you enjoying yourself?"

Softly smiling, Niiyodo took a deep breath as she enjoyed the hug. It was a simple thing, but she did enjoy it. "Hai, I'm enjoying myself. Though I can't wait until the party tonight."

Pulling away slighly, Harry nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I can't wait either for tonight. It's going to be awesome."

Niiyodo furrowed her eyebrows for a moment in thought. Something about how he said it did not sound quite right, but then she shrugged it off before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a box. "I have a present for you, Harry-Chan."

Quickly opening it, the black haired boy grinned at the elaborate container he found inside. "A new ink pot, thanks! I could use one."

Chewing her lip, Niiyodo glanced around and leaned in. "Actually, it's a bit more then that, Harry-Chan. It's made to last after all and I thought that you could use it for school work at Hogwarts." She then winkled her nose some. "Though I do wish that they would let you use at least fountain pens instead of quills all the time."

Only shrugging, Harry sighed a bit and shook his head. "You're not the only one, Niiyodo-Chan. But... what can you do?" With another shake of his head, he placed the ink pot, after making sure that it was sealed, into his bag before digging around a bit. Then Harry pulled out a box that he handed to the smiling Light Cruiser. "Here you go, Niiyodo-Chan. I hope that you'll like it."

Just chuckling, Niiyodo began to unwrap it as she smiled. "I'm sure that I will, Harry-Chan." Upon opening it, her eyes went wide at seeing the crystal pendant inside. Part of her surprise was because she rememebered seeing Harry give them out the previous year and having wished for one herself. A thought that made her blush even now. 'He couldn't have known that I wanted one... did he?'

Meanwhile, Harry softly smiled up at her before nodding at it. "Um, do you like it?"

Biting her lip, Niiyodo smiled back at him before taking deep breath. "I-I do, actually. So what is inside it?"

Unable to help himself, Harry's smile turned into a grin as he tapped it. "Well... it's fur from a sphinx. Because it sort of reminded me of you."

Now a bit confused, the shipgirl tilted her head some and furrowed her eyebrows. "It... reminded you of me? A sphinx?" At his nod, her eyebrows furrowed even more as she tried to understand how he came to that conclusion. "How?"

Harry had not expected that question and blinked up at her. "How?" When she frowned before nodding, he scratched his head. Part of him was rather thankful that the pitcher on his head had run out of punch so he had put it away. "Sphinxes are really, really smart you know? Like you are. And they're pretty, like you."

If he had noticed the blush that sprang up on Niiyodo's face, Harry didn't comment on it. 'H-he thinks that I am really smart and pretty?'

As that thought went through Niiyodo's mind, Harry continued his explanation. "Sphinxes are pretty strong too. But they also guard things from those who would steal stuff from, like you and Ooyodo-Nee do from people who would take from the supplies."

Still blushing deeply, Niiyodo considered that before slowly nodding. "I... suppose that makes sense." Gently, she took the necklace out and placed it around her neck before smiling. "Well? How does it look?"

With a grin on his face, Harry gave her a thumbs up. "It looks great on you, Niiyodo-Chan! And... I'm happy that you like it."

Glancing around, Niiyodo noticed that no one was looking in their direction and then leaned down before pulling Harry into another hug. "I don't like it, I love it, Harry-Chan. Thank you so very much for giving me this."

Another glance around and then Niiyodo moved quickly and kissed him on the cheek which made Harry blush some to her giggles. Unnoticed by her though, Ooyodo had been watching from a distance and shook her head. 'As if she was not already gunning to be his Secretary Ship. Then again... I suppose that I can at least trust Harry-Chan to take care of her...' Looking around, the Secretary Ship frowned some. 'Now, where is Supprin? I want to discuss possibly visiting Percy...'

The thought of the red haired boy brought a small flush to her cheeks, but Ooyodo just brushed it off as maybe the heater being a bit too high. Still, the conversations she had with him even through mail were rather stimulating...
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A smile on her face, Hamakaze turned to see a slightly bemused Harry walk up to where she was with the others. "Harry-San, it's good to see you this morning."

Grinning, Harry just gave her a small wave and a chuckle. "Merry Christmas, Hamakaze-Chan, Isokaze-Chan, Yukikaze-Chan, Louisiana, Shinano-Chan, Urakaze-San, Hoel." Once he got return greetings, and hugged each shipgirl, he began reaching into his pocket. "I got your presents for you."

Eyes widening a bit as Harry began to pass out small boxes to the Destroyers, Louisiana shook her head. "Thank you, mon chéri. I am certain that we shall like them."

It was Isokaze who opened hers first by practically tearing off the wrapping. Once it was open though, she tilted her head to the side in some confusion. Then, Isokaze's eyes widened as she slowly lifted the crystal pendant out of the box which contained black fur inside. Part of her noted that Hamakaze's and Yukikaze's own pendants had the same fur inside of it. "Harry-Chan? What is this?"

Smiling, Harry pointed at the fur and chuckled some. "Well... I was wondering what sort of thing to get you when it struck me. Each pendant contains the fur from a separate head of Fluffy."

Even as Urakaze turned to Hoel and mouthed the words, Yukikaze froze and then turned to him. "Um, Fluffy? You mean that giant, three headed dog of Hagrid-San's?"

With a nod, the black haired boy chuckled some. "That's the one! It's actually called a Cerberus because it looks like the one in the myths. Anyways... They're used as guards because they are very loyal and will protect their owners from anything."

As she blushed some, Isokaze shared a look with Hamakaze before leaning forward and giving Harry a hug along with her white haired sister. "Thank you, Harry-Chan. This is a wonderful gift." With a smile, she placed it around her neck and flipped her hair over the chain of the necklace. Then Isokaze looked up at Shinano with a bright smile. "How does it look on me, Shinano-Sama?"

The large Carrier had a smile on her face before she slowly nodded and then patted Isokaze on the head. "It looks very good on you, Isokaze-Chan. And on you as well, Yukikaze-Chan, Hamakaze-Chan."

Both Destroyers smiled happily alongside Isokaze before Urakaze cleared her throat. "Ah, Harry-San? There is some sort of feather inside mah pendant. Mind explaining? I'm not sure how ya managed it anyways."

Chuckling, Harry shrugged some. "Well, I made the pendants by taking rock crystal and wrapping them around something. But in your case... it's a hippogriff feather." Her eyes widening as one of her crew explained what that was, Urakaze stared at him as Harry continued. "They're fiercely loyal to anyone they care for and they're considered a sign of love as the only way they could have come about is a gryffin that loved a mare. And you came back because of the love of your sisters."

Moments later, he found himself being hugged by the blue haired Destroyer who sniffled a bit. "Thank you, Harry-San. I love it."

In return, Harry hugged her back before he turned to Hoel-Ni who was examining hers with confusion. There was some sort of grey fur inside of it and she frowned at it. "And yours Hoel is from a Hodag. They're pretty cool as their horns, when powdered allow someone to not be affected by alcohol and go without sleep for seven days and nights. Durable and tough, just like you."

Her cheeks reddening, Hoel-Ni scratched her cheek and chuckled weakly. "Thanks, Harry. I appreciate the thought."

At that moment, Harry pulled out another present which an amused Louisiana noted looked like the ones given to the Destroyers. Opening it though, she furrowed her eyebrows as she pulled out the necklace that was inside it. Mainly because inside the pendant, there was a glob of red that had golden sparkles inside of it. "What's this now, mon chéri?"

Unable to help himself, Harry grinned at her. "It's a drop of Re'em blood. It's all I got because they're kind of rare and it's the blood that has the power. From what I read, drinking the blood can give a human super strength and all that and the Re'em itself is super strong and hard to beat, like you."

Eyes wide, Louisiana froze for a moment before, slowly, she placed it around her neck with the pendant coming to rest on the swell of her chest. Then, the Battleship kneeled down in front of Harry and moved forward until she was kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you, mon chéri, my future Admiral. I will treasure such a fine gift for the rest of my days."

When she pulled away, Lousiana's eyes were practically sparkling as a blushing Harry stared at her. Suddenly, he could hear Shinano shuffle and he smiled up at her. "I didn't forget you, Shinano-Chan! One second..."

As he began digging in his bag, Shinano smiled softly and shook her head. "Um, I know that you wouldn't, Harry-Chan. You've never forgotten me." Taking the present he offered her, she slowly tore the paper from the package before opening the box. With a blink, she gently pulled out what looked like a cylinder made from silvery-white material with golden drops attached here and there. "Um, Harry-Chan?"

Smiling, Harry pointed at one spot on it. "It's a hair clasp, see? It opens right there and you can use it to secure the end of your ponytail." He then shrugged some. "I made it from unicorn horn that fell off the head of that unicorn I saved when she shed it. Then I added some amber to it."

Face now bright red, Shinano twiddled her fingers shyly as she got knowing grins from the others. With her hair, there was always the issue of keeping her braids secured and now she had a way of doing it. "I know what symbolism there is with unicorns..." Her blush deepened a touch. "But is there any with amber?"

There was a thoughtful look on Harry's face as he scratched his cheek. "Um... well, Amber is associated with the Sun. In ancient times it was sometimes thought as being produced by sunlight striking the Earth and such."

If anything though, that made Shinano's eyes widen before she pulled her ponytail over. Then she clipped the clasp onto it and could have sworn that the stones flashed slightly before shrugging it off. Shinano then decided it was her turn and crouched down to give Harry a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Harry-Chan. I... I cannot say how much I love it."

Hugging her tightly back, Harry grinned. "Just the hug tells me enough, Shinano-Chan."

Several minutes later after a conversation with Harry, Louisiana was sipping a drink as she watched the black haired boy disappear into the crowd. Eventually, she lowered the cup from her lips and smiled. "You know, ma chère... I'm glad that mon chéri has given us these necklaces."

Confused somewhat by the comment, Shinano only nodded some. "Because Harry-Chan made them for us?" Reaching up, she clasped her own pendant that was around her neck. "Which makes them special."

Eyes twinkling so much that they resembled Iowa's own starry eyes, Louisiana shook her head. "Oui, that is part of it. But another part, ma chère, is what they represent."

Blinking, Shinano turned towards her. "Represent?"

Only humming, Louisiana watched her friend closely. "Each shipgirl that he has given one to is one who wants to be in his fleet once mon chéri has become our Admiral. It shows that we will be the first ones in it."

After a moment of thought, Shinano blushed deeply and smiled. She rather liked that thought.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking up to Kongou, Goto smiled at his girlfriend as she scanned the room around them. "So, anything interesting?"

Softly giggling, the British born returnee nodded before pointing to where Nagato was watching with stars in her eyes as Hoppou stood on a stage. "Dess! Look right there!"

Eyebrow raising, Goto turned and stared as Hoppou was doing an odd dance on the stage. "Hoppou wants a hippopotamuses for Christmas. Only a hippopotamus will do. No crocodile, no rhinoceroses..."

Blinking, Goto slowly turned to Kongou and cleared his throat. "Kongou-Chan?" Once he got a nod, he continued. "Should that be considered a weapon?"

Kongou snorted some and smirked. "Yes, it should. It's a Weapon of Mass Moe after all."

Just shaking his head, Goto then brought up one hand which had a cup in it. "Here, I got you something." Taking it, Kongou thanked him only to pause with his next words. "A nice hot tea for a real hottie."

Slowly, Kongou's eyes drifted to give him a look. "Hmm..."

Looking back at her, Goto smirk widened some. "Hmm? Is something the matter?"

In reply, Kongou pulled the tea away from her lip and closed her eyes. "Dess. I am currently considering if it would be a waste of tea or not to dump it over your head for what you just said. Rather hard decision when all is said and done."

Hand against his chest, Goto winced. "Ouch, that hurt." Seeing the amusement in her eyes, he continued. "And it would hurt to have that poured on me."

Tilting her head to the side, Kongou was about to say something when Yonehara's voice spoke up. "I think that would be an advantage, Isoroku." When Goto turned, he noticed Yonehara with Ashigara hanging off him shaking his head. "And I can see that your pick up lines have not improved any."

A smirk on her face, Kongou hummed in thought. "Really now..." Eyes twinkling in barely concealed amusement, she grinned a bit. "I think that I would like to hear more about this."

With a groan, Goto placed a hand against his face. "Can we please not?"

However, Yonehara only cleared his throat before he spoke up. "'Hey, if I had to rate you from one to ten, I would rate you a nine. Because I am the one that you are missing.' Then you had... 'Here I am, what were your other two wishes?'"

Eyebrow twitching, Goto turned around. "Like you were any better! Remember when we were in Hawaii? What was that line you used which got a bottle of beer dumped on your head? Oh yeah... 'Considering that you're an American, you must be from Tennassee. Because you are the only ten I see here.'"

The two continued to snark at each other as they shot off bad pickup lines that the other had heard. Meanwhile, they did not notice how both their girlfriends became more and more amused. Also, there was the fact that they were writing down every single one that they were hearing.

Simply for research, of course. They would never spread around what they were hearing. Never, ever.

Of course.
__________________________________________________________________________

Grabbing a towel from the cabinet, Iku sighed a bit as she walked out of the shower. "Finally..." Upon entering the Common Area though, she blinked a bit at seeing the treats and such that were out. And then Iku spotted someone and her expression brightened some. "Harry-Chan! When did you get here?"

With a chuckle as the Submarine hugged him, Harry wrapped his arms around her right back. "Just a few minutes ago. Kaga-Oba's planes spotted you coming in."

Snickers could be heard as Shioi walked out of where the showers were with a smile on her face as she was followed by the others. "Well, that's good to hear though you missed the Ha-101s, they headed over to the Mess Hall."

All Harry did to that though was simply shrug. "I'll see them later, I guess." Suddenly, the grin was back on his face as he ran over to the door and walked out. Several moments later, Harry came back in with his arms full of various large boxes that were wrapped. "Anyways, I got your presents here!"

There were smiles all around as the Submarines pulled out their own gifts and handed them to Harry. When Harry got to RO's gift though, he blinked some. "What's this?"

Lifting out the small, cylindrical device, RO smiled at Harry. "You mentioned that you were having trouble doing math homework in Hogwarts, correct, Harry-Chan?" At his nod, RO continued. "I asked some of my Schwestern to be on the look out for something and they found a Curta." Gently rolling it around in her hands, she shook her head. "It's fully mechanical, so the magic in Hogwarts won't affect it in the slightest. And since one of their fairies knew how and they sent it over to me, I can teach you how to use it."

His eyes widening, Harry smiled a bit before taking it back and placing it into the box. Then he moved and hugged RO tightly. "Thanks, RO-Chan. This is going to be a big help at Hogwarts."

Just hugging him back, RO grinned a bit. "Ja, I thought that it would be."

For a moment, she tightened the hug before letting him go. Now that all of the gifts to him were opened though, Harry began to pass out the ones to the Submarines with Iku pausing as she opened hers. Looking over, Imuya blinked at the small blush that was growing on Iku's cheeks before Maruyu spoke up. "Oh wow! You made a model of me!"

Imuya's head whipped around to find that, yes, Maruyu was now holding a model of her hull. The small Submarine had a massive smile on her face before spinning one of the propellers. Placing it down, Maruyu then made her way over to Harry and hugged him. Slowly, Imuya moved until she could see that, yes, Iku had a model of her own hull there in the box. While doing this, she continued to listen to Harry. "Yeah, I made it by using my magic to work the metal for the hull. Had to get the paints from Jane though.

As she watched, one of Iku's fairies climbed down to the hatch and opened it before slipping inside the model. Seconds later, Iku's back stiffened. "Uh, Iku-Chan?"

Now Hachi was noticing Iku and blinked herself. "Iku-Chan? What's up?"

Slowly, Iku blinked some as her blush increased. "It's... my hull. And inside is... accurate..."

At the confused look on Harry's face, Imuya gave him a sheepish smile. "Wait right here, Harry-Chan. I got to talk with Iku-Chan right quick." As he nodded, Imuya hauled the still frozen Iku to her feet before pulling her into another room. Closing the door, the red haired Subgirl turned and regarded Iku. "What the heck is going on with you, Iku-Chan?"

Turning towards her, Iku gulped. "I-Imuya-Chan... he made a model of my hull. My hull! And it is so accurate! M-my fairy stated that it's almost exactly like my original hull!"

More then a little confused, Imuya raised an eyebrow at her. "Ookay? And? It's a model, Iku-Chan. Just calm down." A blush came over her face as she realized that there was likely one in her present. "I... I mean, yeah, they're accurate. But it's not that big of a deal."

Out of nowhere, Iku grabbed her and pulled her close as she looked at her with crazed eyes. "Imuya-Chan! Don't you know!? Gifting a model of a ship to that ship is... it means that he wants... So lewd..." Her eyes rapidly going back and forth, Iku's breathing began to become heavy. "He had to have poured over my blueprints and pictures of my hull! Examining every single inch! A-and then he made it with how own hands and magic working the metal! All to get it perfect! So lewd, perfectly lewd! Extraordinarily lewd! But what can I do!?"

Slightly unnerved, Imuya coughed. as she leaned back as much as she could. "Uh... thank him? I mean, it's not really that lewd."

Eyes coming to a stop, Iku stared at her. "It is the lewdest! But thanking him?" A grin then overtook her face as she began to chuckle. "Oh yes~ Iku will thank Harry-Chan! Because Iku will lewd the Harry-Chan!"

Outside, everyone heard a bang and turned to see the door fly open to see Iku come tumbling out with Imuya on top of her trying to hold the blue-purple haired Submarine back. "Run! Run Harry-Chan before Iku-Chan gets you!"

As Iku reached out for him with a giggle, Harry got to his feet. "Harry-Chan! Come to Iku~"

Widening his eyes, Harry nodded some. "U-uh, right! See you all later!" Then he ran out the door wondering why Iku was acting that way and more then a little freaked as he could hear her cry of dismay. And he also ignored the little voice telling him that he should have stayed.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Yep, Harry is hitting all the emotional markers, isn't he. Now then... Please, please don't hate me after this.
Evening Time

-----
Ushio traced circles on the tabletop with her index finger, watching as they swirled into a tiny, imaginary cyclone. Saki had returned to her usual, calm self by the time she made it back to the house, but the moment that she had entered the room, Umi had glared and Saki had returned the favor with a cold, imperious look that, once again, Ushio couldn't believe had any place in her eyes. Whatever had happened between the two, and however it involved her, it was not going to go away over a walk in the fresh air. Was there something that she could do? Anything that she could do?

Footsteps rang out on the staircase, and she looked up to see Yae descending into the dining room. The tanned girl stood at the foot of the steps. "Hey, Nagawa-san," she said brightly. Ushio envied her slightly—being able to spring back to her normal self after being away from the argument after maybe a half an hour. "Are you ready to go? We're gonna be heading out soon."

Ah, right, the family restaurant. Chisaki had suggested going to one that she and the other girls had noticed during their shopping trip, strongly implying that they could put Umi and Saki in separate stalls. Mamiya had ignored the implications, but found the idea of going to the restaurant agreeable. Thus it was put to a vote, and the consensus had been more or less in favor.

"Right, of course," Ushio said, planting her hands firmly against the wood and pushing herself upright. "Is, uh, everybody set?"

"Well, I think Hebihara's still working on the logbook," Yae replied, tapping an index finger to her temple in speculation, "but other than that? Everyone's ready, they just haven't come down yet. Huh. Guess I should go get Hebihara…"

Ushio watched her turn back to the stairs and begin walking up. Suddenly, an idea dropped unbidden into her head. Ikazuchi's advice had calmed her on the first day, and Saki's had showed her the path she wanted to take. Maybe some advice was what she needed to deal with this? "Actually, Ashida? I… There's something that I'd like to, well, ask you? If that's okay?" Yae stopped in midstep. Then she pirouetted and jumped down the stairs, landing like a gymnast (or, at least, what Yae imagined a gymnast would land like).

"Okay then," she grinned, "what's your worry?" Ushio found her eyes drawn back to the table. She forced them back up to Yae.

"Well," she began. "If two of your friends had an argument… and it was about you—I mean, they didn't say anything about it, but you can kind of tell, I mean, it's not certain, but—I mean, if they argued, like that… And you wanted to do something about it, what would you do?" She could feel any confidence she had gathered pouring down out of her feet as she spoke. Yae listened to her, standing frozen in place down to the silly grin on her lips.

"Well!" she said, crossing her arms and replacing her smile with a comically serious grimace. "I'd get them both together, and then I'd punch them in the face. Then I'd tell them off for being idiots, and make them talk things out. And after that we'd transform and destroy the evil monster and get cake!" Ushio gaped at her in confusion. "Wait… Do you mean in real life?"

She didn't know where the laughter came from. It started somewhere in her stomach, then came roaring up to her chest, and exited her mouth in a heady rush of giggling which turned in turn into laughing so hard her sides began to hurt. Yae shrieked in alarm and rushed to her side.

"Nagawa-san! Nagawa-san! Are you alright? Did you eat something bad at the base? I knew you couldn't trust army cooking!" She squealed, grabbing Ushio's arm as she began to fall to her knees and getting pulled along with her. "Aah! Don't die! Don't go into the light!"

"No, no," Ushio managed, clutching a hand to her stomach in an attempt to get her breathing under control. "I'm okay. Really. I… Thank, I needed that."

Yae gave her a confused look. "I… Okay? If you say so?"

Now that she was feeling better, Ushio thought back to the issue at hand. An idea was beginning to form, one that she had a feeling might work. She had this.

-----

She didn't have this.

She had felt confident after the talk with Yae (who was now trying to challenge Chisaki to a duel with utensils), enough so that she had attempted to set Umi and Saki up to talk to each other. That had ended with Umi sitting next to her in the seat on the end of the booth, and Saki sitting directly across from her. The air turned icy at their presence, and it felt ever more like Ushio had made a mistake. Fortunately, Saki at least came across as cold but cordial. Umi, on the other hand…

"So, Tohda-san?" Ushio said hesitantly, lowering her menu. "What do you think that you'll have—"

"Oh, you don't need to worry about what she thinks," Umi cut in, shoving her head up to Ushio's menu so fast that she had to lean back to avoid getting headbutted. "I think you'd like one of the salads. Seasonal vegetables are always good, you know!"

"I'm having pancakes," Saki replied, ignoring Umi completely. "I always get them when I go to a new restaurant for the first time."

"Oh?" Umi asked slyly, giving her a look that could have frozen Mount St. Helens. "And what do you do if they don't have those on the menu? Do you flip a coin?" Saki ignored her completely, returning her attention to the menu.

Umi seemed to be taking every opportunity that she could to goad Saki, it looked like. Ushio couldn't open her mouth without Umi taking the opportunity to detract "certain others" or "that girl." Ushio briefly wondered if she should take Yae's advice about punching them so that she could gain a second to speak without getting cut off. No, she couldn't. With strength on her new level, she would probably put the two in the hospital. She didn't want that, no matter how ridiculous they were being.

It was just so… jarring. Umi was usually all good nature and energy, not… venomous. And while Saki had never been the most personable individual, it was in a way that was way that was affectionate, if Ushio had to describe it. In the very least, she wasn't doing anything to escalate their problem, for which Ushio was a little bit grateful, but she was still speaking in a frigid tone and acting as if Umi wasn't worth the listening to.

If anyone up there is listening, she prayed silently, please don't let this explode.

"Ooh, pancakes?" Yae said cheerfully, grabbing her menu where she had let it fall open on the table. "Where's that? Gimme gimme gimme!" Chisaki groaned, but pointed at a spot on her own menu.

"It's here, see?" she said. "Right above the drinks."

"Don't mind if I do~" Yae sang, hugging the menu to her chest. Umi sniffed imperiously, and Ushio looked at her nervously. Her friend was glaring at Yae now. She wouldn't. She couldn't possibly have decided—

"Of course," Umi said imperiously. "Such a childish food is perfectly suited for someone like you."

Yae grinned, but Ushio didn't hear her next words. The blood rushing through her ears had drowned it out. Umi… For whatever reason, Umi had taken Yae's selection from the menu as choosing a side. She had decided that Yae… was her enemy. She…

With a mighty slam, Ushio brought her hands down on the table. All conversation ceased, and as one the Tracking Club turned to stare at her. She could feel the eyes of every other patron in the restaurant turning on her as well. And for once in her life? She gave absolutely no craps.

"Hoshikawa-san." She said, trying her best to hide the absolute disgust in her voice. "Please let me up. I am feeling somewhat ill." Umi gave her an odd look. As if she didn't realize what she had just did.

"Oh, really?" she said in a voice so much like her usual one that it made Ushio want to scream. "I'll go with you—"

"Just. Let. Me. Up." Ushio grit out. She needed to get away from here, right now. She had to separate herself from the situation, before her anger burned out of control and she hurt the person who had stood by her for so long in a way that she couldn't take back. Umi's face turned stricken, but she stood up and stepped away, allowing Ushio to slide out of the booth and stomp thunderously away. She could feel everyone's eyes following her, and she began to walk faster, breaking into a run. A waitress might have called out after her not to. If she did, Ushio couldn't make it out.
-----

Mutsu looked down into her beer. With a tilt of her wrist, she set the honey-colored liquid swirling about, shaking bubbles free from where they clung to the sides of the glass to join the foam that rested at the top. She sighed, flopping dramatically over and resting her chin on the counter.

"Well, well," Houshou said, and Mutsu stretched her neck to look up at the carrier. She was cleaning a tumbler, peering down over it to give Mutsu a slightly amused look. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were having an off day." Mutsu brought her hands in, and braced her chin with them.

"I guess you could say that, after a fashion," she groused. At the sound of glass clinking on wood, she looked up again to see that Houshou had set her tumbler down and was looking down at her with that damn maternal smile, like the one that Kongou shared with the destroyers when they were feeling down and out. The one that said "well? What's your problem, then?"

"Ushio came through here, didn't she?" she asked.

-----

"… and then Hoshikawa came back, and those two…" Mutsu gulped down another drink, and handed her empty glass back to Houshou. "You should have seen them, it was like it was all they could to just be in each other's presence. It was…" she shook her head. "They were hurting her, Houshou. They may not have been able to tell, the way that they were acting, but… Ushio was this damn close to crying again. I just… What was I supposed to do?" Houshou placed her glass, newly refilled, in front of her, and Mutsu took it gratefully. "I'll bet Nagato would have known," she grumbled, holding it up to her lips.

"Well, I'm afraid that Nagato isn't here right now," Houshou said. "So in that case, what do you think you should do?" Mutsu swigged down as much as she could in one go without hurting her throat.

"Hell if I know," she said ruefully. "Why would I, if I don't even know what they were fighting about?" Houshou leaned down, planting her hands on the bar to support her weight.

"Well," she said, "I have found a trick to making decisions, if I ever find myself having trouble." She smiled. "If you would hear it, that is?"

"Fire away," Mutsu said, lowering her glass. Houshou's smile widened, and Mutsu realized that it was the "the next thing that I am about to say is actually sort of funny" smile.

"When I find myself having trouble making a decision," she said, "Sometimes I ask myself 'What would Hiei do?'" Mutsu choked, and she hadn't even been drinking anything. In was a mercy—if she'd had anything in her mouth when she'd heard that, she'd probably have spewed it all over the counter.

"Hiei?" she asked incredulously. "Hiei's a—"

"While it's true that Hiei can act in a manner that is a bit… touched in the head, perhaps," Houshou said, raising a hand to cut Mutsu off, "she is still someone who is quick, decisive, and holds strongly to her convictions. To be completely honest," she said, lifting the tumbler that she had discarded earlier and looking down into the bottom, "I think that if more people were like her, we'd be living in a better world." Mutsu looked down at her beer. When Houshou put it like that, the goofy battleship actually sounded a little bit like a role model.

But then… what would Hiei do? Hiei would…

Mutsu grabbed her glass purposefully, gulping down her drink to the last drops. She slammed it down on the counter and stood upright, grinding her fist into the heel of her palm. Turning on her heel, she ran from the bar, throwing the doors open and nearly bowling Haruna over.
-----

"I didn't mean for her to follow Hiei's example so exactly," Houshou mused, looking down at Mutsu's abandoned glass. "I suppose I'll just add it to her tab, then?" She watched as Haruna stepped up to the counter, whisked the cup away, and began looking for something Scottish.
-----

The sun was setting, and Goto looked out briefly as the sky began to turn purple. Somewhere out there, his girls were riding out on patrol, making sure that the waters surrounding Japan were safe for humanity. It was a thought at once both comforting and sobering.

And now then, speaking of Abyssals…

The door slipped open, and Ooyodo stepped in, followed by Kongou. The two stood at attention, both of them looking grimly at him.

"You asked for me, Sir?" Kongou said professionally, and he nodded at her.

"I did indeed," he confirmed, standing. "Regarding the subject of the captive Abyssal named Tanya, I have reached this decision…"
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Shaithan

First

Out in the Atlantic Ocean a lone Re-class battleship ploughed through the waves, idly listening to her planes. Currently, she was without a princess to follow, which suited her just fine. She felt a need, a need for seclusion, for a place to settle down. She couldn't really describe it, she felt a need for a change.

She began recollecting her service out in the North Atlantic and the northern seas. The siege of Iceland that had been broken by the Grand Fleet, the failied attack on Greenland, which had been repelled by the US Navy and the Canadians. The failed attempt to settle Jan Mayen and half a dozen more attempts by her hapless princess to actually establish a base.

Sometimes she missed the Princess, but if there ever was a princess born under every unlucky star, it had been her. In the end, she had been haggard and defeated. She had taken every willing girl to a last death and glory assault on Scapa Flow. The Re-class shuddered when remembering these days. Fuel had been scarce, whatever they could salvage from human operations out at sea had been a godsend in these days. The assault on Scapa Flow was basically the last stand of a fleet that was more dead than alive.

Sometimes the Re wondered if her princess consumed all her luck in creating her. The strongest fighter the self-titled gypsy fleet had fielded. She remembered sending shipgirls packing, carriers, cruisers, battleships, she had stood alone against several shipgirls on several occassions and won considerably more often than not. She particularly liked to remember the terror of various ships, modern vessels for which the last thing they saw before going under was her grin after a great fight. She considered it a point of pride that every time she had run into a modern ship, she had sunk it with all hands.

She carried their names with her, same as the story of their last stand against her. Maybe, one day, she might even tell the story of their bravery in the face of inevitable defeat and death.

There were other things, too. She remembered first hearing about Abyssals like her appearing in the Pacific, younger sisters in a way, as they shared the same plans. But they had only appeared after her, after she had fought in what the meatbags called Blood Week. She was undoubtedly the first. And she had the experience to prove it. Few abyssals of her age that hadn't already climbed to leadership positions remained. They tended to be personal guards of princesses. Many, many more had been sunk already. Such as her fleetmates. None of them had escaped Scapa Flow in their blaze of glory. She hadn't gone, ordered by her princess to feed, become as strong as possible and then seek another princess to follow.

Of course, the princess who had taken her in had been in a horrible position. Heligoland was great for locking down the German Bight. It was also between two of the biggest navies in this whole conflict. The base at Heligoland had been crushed, the fleet destroyed near Jutland.

Ever after this, she had taken to drifting. She would find places to raid for fuel, sometimes she even was lucky to get some ammo. Once she had topped off her fuel reserves, she would set out again, hunting for ships to sink. Sometimes she'd join a fleet for an operation, but most of the time, she roamed. And no matter how far south she went, she always came back home to the icy waters of the North Atlantic and its adjoining seas.

With a grin, she looked up at the night sky, at the Northern Star. "Mother, I'm coming home," she whispered roughly.

She had spent years fighting, plundering, killing and having a great old time. But it had to end one day, a day that was coming.

Her engines were running hot, propelling her towards the North Cape, the place where her mother had once been born and where she had first laid eyes on the aurora borealis.

Now, she returned. Stories filling her mind and various trinkets and other loot filling her hold, telling of her exploits out in the world. She had spent more than a decade fighting, had sunk a great number of ships. It was time for her to finally come home. The grand old days of fighting humanity with impunity, of being able to stand alone against a whole battlegroup, they were over. Change was rippling through the world. In the Far East, Princesses had actually defected, making peace with the meatbags. Elsewhere, relics of a long-gone Empire had taken over protecting a colony of outcasts, outcasts that had ut up and admirable fight in outclassed boats until the girls of the double-headed eagle arrived. She pitied not having been able to be there. It would have been a fight to her liking.

She remembered old comrades, most of which now slept beneath the waves, the fights, the joy they shared when fighting shipgirls. It felt like an eternity to her.

With a blink she realized that snow was beginning to fall. The black night felt just that bit blacker now. The wind was picking up, too, creating the weather most girls in the North Atlantic were accustomed to.

Her screws propelled her north-east, her radar searching the waves for contacts.

It took but a thought for her planes to begin their return to hangar. They had been out for hours already and she didn't want to lose them, not after each of them had been honed in dozens of fights. They were veterans in their own rights, spectres that had been following her for years. She wouldn't want to miss them now.

Looking back up to where the North Star was barely visible through the increasing snowfall, she smiled softly. "Guide me home, old friend," she asked, humming a melancholy tune she had found in the wreckage of a yacht she had destroyed a few days ago. The device which had played the music had died some hours earlier, running out of electricity and she couldn't charge it. Now it had joined countless other small trinkets in her collection of memorabilia.

The frigid waters of the Norwegian Sea felt welcoming to the Re-class, a return home.

North she continued, clad in the darkness of the polar night, following the call to her home waters.

Her captain told her where she was going, her engineers told her what called her home. She would ascend. She had spent so much time fighting she had almost forgotten what her mother had once told her. When she was old and experienced enough, she would become a demon or even a princess. It seemed like it was time for her to succeed her mother. "Princess," she whispered. "I wish you could see it, Mother, your little girl is growing up," she continued.

She remembered how her mother doted on her, a destroyer barely fit to be an Elite elevated to Princess because she had appeared at her side. Her mother had tried her best to ensure she had a good life, as she had tried with all her girls. But it wasn't to be. One extra-awesome girl couldn't save the rest of them from the shipgirls. She always made a point of visiting places where her sisters died when she was in the area, remembering them and mourning them. Maybe, one day she'd even go out and attack Scapa Flow, finally following her sisters and mother into the beyond.

Days passed by until she finally reached her destination. The North Cape. Old memories surfaced as she followed them towards where she had been born. A small islet, barely more than a rock in the water. "Mother, I am home," she whispered hoarsely.

With a sad smile, she laid down to sleep, remembering growing up here, surrounded by her mother and her sisters. A harsh life filled with hardship and destitution. But one she wouldn't want to miss for the world.

Days passed by while she dreamed and remembered, asleep while she became more.

Almost a week was gone by when she first stirred. She felt heavier, more powerful and hungry. So unbelievably hungry.

Her tail looked at her, sporting new guns of an even bigger caliber. In addition to new gun emplacements. It grinned malevolently.

Her pilots informed her that their new jet fighters and bombers were ready. As were the new guided bombs. Her captain informed her about further changes. She had grown a bit, her engines were more powerful and she had even more guns at her disposal. Her torpedoes had been upgraded, too. Her radar and fire control, damage control, radio, command facilities, everything had been upgraded and modernized.

With a mighty yawn, the first Re-class princess, the North Cape Princess, the Lonely Princess of the North, sat up and silently basked in her cold domain, keeping her eyes closed for the moment.

Slowly her systems came online. Finally she opened her eyes, eyes alight with an eldritch blue flame.

"I know what I will have to do, Mother," she softly said before stepping onto the water. Her course set, she left her cradle for a second time, carrying with her the memories of her family and for once able to remember them not just in their dying moments.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Glancing around, Iku had an unsure smile on her face. A smile that vanished moments later as a fan came down on her head. "Ow!"

Rubbing her head, she turned and then flinched a bit at the expression on Taigei's face. The Submarine Tender was not amused by what she heard had happened. "Now, before we enter the Mess Hall for the party, what are you to do?"

Still rubbing her head, Iku sighed a bit. "Apologize to Harry-Chan for my actions earlier."

Only nodding, Taigei nodded as she crossed her arms before raising one eyebrow. "Yes, correct. But why should you do that?"

Head hanging a bit, Iku looked down at the ground before shuffling. "Because I overreacted to what Harry-Chan gave us. It was made by him out of love and care for us and I might have ruined it by what I did..." Looking up, she looked at the other Submarines who had been walking beside her. "I am really sorry about that though! It's just... everyone always thinks of us as being lewd and Harry-Chan never did but then he made a model of my hull and... it was so perfect! Accurate in every detail!"

Just nodding, Hachi tried to fight off her own blush at the memory of the model of her own hull. "Hai, Iku-Chan. I guess that it was really surprising and everything. But it wasn't lewd, but just..."

Shioi shrugged and spoke up at that moment. "Not lewd, just really intimate." Becoming thoughtful, she stared up at the sky. "Harry-Chan had to have put a lot of work in order to make them so close."

Beside her, RO nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he had to have worked hard to get them so close. And Iku-Chan here forgot the most important rule... Harry-Chan is not for lewding. He is for headpats and cuddles, like Destroyers."

That caused another wince to come from Iku as she internally berated herself again. 'I really screwed up. I just had to go and prove every rumor right about me...' Closing her eyes, she gave a small sniffle. 'Harry-Chan probably won't want to hang out with me anymore. All that ruined...'

For some odd reason, the thought of having ruined what she had with Harry hurt more then being depth charged. Seeing that, Hachi was about to hug her friend when a voice caused them all to look up. "Iku-Chan? What's wrong?"

When they turned, there was a nervous Harry staring at them with Nagato behind him. The Battleship had her arms crossed against her chest as she looked at them with one raised eyebrow. It went without saying that all the Submarines flinched some at the look in her eyes. Unknown to them, Nagato was internally pleased about that. 'Good, they understand then.'

Meanwhile, Harry walked up towards Iku nervously with the Sub being unable to look in him in the eyes. "Um, Iku-Chan? I... I have something to say."

Hanging her head, Iku clinched her eyes shut to keep from crying. 'Here it comes... He won't want to be friends anymore. Oh Kami, it feels like my chest is below crush depth.'

Then came words that none of the Submarines nor Taigei and her sister had expected from Harry's mouth. "I... I'm really sorry, Iku-Chan. For what I did."

Eyes shooting open, Iku's head snapped upwards and she stared at him in disbelief as her voice cracked. "W-what? You're sorry, Harry-Chan?! B-but I'm the one who should be really sorry! I overreacted and..."

Shaking his head, Harry stared at her in confusion. "But... I gave you models of yourselves and Mum explained things. I really like you and the others, Iku-Chan. But Mum said that might have been taking things too far and that it really embarrassed you."

Mouth working, Iku looked over at Nagato who simply stood there silently with a raised eyebrow. Then Iku turned back to Harry. "You got nothing to be sorry about, Harry-Chan! If there is anyone who should be sorry, it should be me. I was the one who overreacted about your gift. Sure, it was a bit embarrassing, but I really do love it."

Now looking her in the eyes, Harry tilted his head to the side. "You did?"

Chuckling, Iku nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, I really did, Harry-Chan. You just caught me by surprise."

With a step forward, Harry gulped a bit. "S-so, we're still friends? Even with..."

Iku swallowed a bit as she felt her turbines lighten. "Yeah... We're still friends as long as you want." Somewhat shyly, Iku gave him a small smile as she opened her arms. "C-can I get a hug?"

Moments later, Harry practically leapt into her arms before squeezing her as tightly as he could. "You can always get hugs from me, Iku-Chan. Always." Smiling as he felt her hug him back and place her head on his, Harry sighed. 'I'm glad that Iku-Chan isn't angry or anything.'

Off to the side, Imuya tried not to smile as much as she wanted to at the sight. After all, she was the one who had to deal with Iku until the others dogpiled her. But then Iku's near breakdown at possibly destroying one of her close friendships had surprised them all. It told them that once she had gotten over her shock, Iku had realized what she had done and was devastated. Needless to say, the red haired Subgirl was happy for her friend who was her sister in many ways. 'Though there is still that plan of Hachi's...'

Hachi could feel the look that Imuya shot her, but ignored it as she watched Iku kiss Harry on the top of the head before nuzzling him. 'Well, it's good that all's well that ends well. And that is one disaster averted so Iku-Chan can still join us.'

Then Harry pulled out of the hug and chewed his lip for a few seconds. "Um, Iku-Chan?"

Confused by his actions, Iku frowned a bit as she kept her arms on his shoulders. Part of her was still surprised that Harry had grown a bit since he had gone to that school. "Yes, Harry-Chan? What is it?"

Rubbing the back of his head, Harry took a deep breath. "Well, I embarrassed you and the others with my gifts, right? I mean... that's what Mum told me."

Everyone turned to Nagato who simply shrugged with a slight smile. Then RO spoke up with a grin. "It wasn't that embarrassing, Harry-Chan. We all liked them and if you want to make more then I'm sure that some of the other shipgirls would not mind getting models of their own hulls."

Needless to say, Nagato sighed and pinched her nose and muttered about mixed signals as Harry frowned. "I'll... um, think about it." Shaking that off, Harry then took a deep breath before spreading his arms. "So since I embarrassed you, then you can tell me something embarrassing for me to do and I'll do it! You can even record it and put it onto YouTube or something."

Utter silence met him before there was the sound of both flesh meeting flesh and steel meeting steel as Nagato facepalmed. Partially from what her adopted son had just declared and partially because of the looks she was getting which made her sigh. "No, I did not put him up to that. And Harry? That was not what we agreed on."

All the black haired boy did though was shrug. "Well, yeah? But I'm still going to do it."

Grimacing, Iku shook her head. "You don't need to do that, Harry-Chan!"

Beside her, Imuya nodded in agreement. "Sure, it was a bit embarrassing, Harry-Chan. But just because it was doesn't mean that you need to do anything. And we would never ask for you to do something embarrassing."

With a blink, Harry looked between each of them as they all nodded. Maruyu choosing that point to speak up. "She's right, Harry-Chan. We couldn't ask you to do that knowing that you would feel it the whole time."

There was a look of deep thought on Harry's face before his expression brightened. "Wait! So you don't want me to do something embarrassing, because I would feel it the whole time? Even though giving you models was embarrassing?"

Coughing, Taigei gave him a small smile. "That is what they're saying, Harry-Chan. And I agree with them."

Suddenly, Harry grinned. "Then all I got to do is have something like the models happen with me! And I got Polyjuice which can make it happen!"

Eyebrows furrowing, Iku spotted the slowly growing blushes on Hachi's and Imuya's faces as well as Shioi's. "Um, Polyjuice? What's Polyjuice and what does that have to do with anything?"

If anything, Harry's grin widened some. "Polyjuice is this cool potion that Hermione brewed this year. See, all you got to do is place a hair or such into it from a person and you'll transform into a perfect copy of that person! So I can give you some, a hair from me to put into it, and then you'll be able to transform into me and do something embarrassing. That way, it's like a model of myself since you would all be in my form, and I still get embarrassed as payback."

Unknown to Harry was the thoughts that we going through their minds. In particular, Iku's mind froze for a brief moment. 'It's a potion... that using Harry-Chan's hair would cause us to transform into Harry-Chan. We would be inside Harry-Chan's body, an exact duplicate... And do something embarrassing...' Her mind then began to race as her turbines hit the redline at the thoughts that hit her. 'Inside Harry-Chan's body doing something embarrassing. Lewd! Lewd! SUPER LEWD! THE LEWDEST!'

Outside, Harry blinked as nearly as one, all the Submarines went utterly red in their faces with a thousand mile stare on their faces. Then he frowned as he noticed that steam seemed to be coming out of their ears as well as an odd "Eeeeee" sound from their mouths. So, of course, Harry turned to his mother while also noticing a similar look on Taigei's face to the Submarine's. "Um, Mum?"

Sighing, Nagato pinched her nose between two fingers and shook her head. "Don't... worry about it, Harry. It's not something to worry about."

All Harry did was furrow his eyebrows and then shrug.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

I like the idea of Akatsuki receiving an umbrella. Of course, to maintain the whole weapons thing, it would have to have a sword in the handle.

And on that pleasant note... snippet!
Eating Late

-----

"… Although it is very likely she is not high on the chain of command," Goto said, "any information that we can find about Abyssals or their movements would be to our benefit. If we were to disregard Tanya's request, there is no guarantee that we would not be able to get the information from her. However, I am of the all-around opinion that it would be better on all sides if Tanya were to give it to us as a willing informant. That being said…"

Goto turned to look Kongou in the eye with an intensity that, while she was more than aware he possessed, surprised her on the occasions he chose to show it.

"Battleship Kongou. It is your original idea to have Doctor Norihara meet directly with Tanya. Therefore, this operation is your responsibility. You will contact Doctor Norihara at your earliest convenience and ask for her permission to carry this out—and if she does not give her permission, everything is off. Then, tomorrow morning, you will accompany her to speak with Tanya." He stepped closer to Kongou, until she could have reached out and poked him on the nose if she so wanted. "Are we clear?"

"Crystal, sir," she confirmed. And it was. Everything, especially the good Doctor's safety, was her responsibility. She had advocated the course of action, so she would be the one who took it. The only ones who should kill, and all that.

"Good," he replied. He exhaled deeply, relief flowing over his for. "Now then. Is there anything else that needs to be done before I turn in?" Ooyodo stepped up, adjusting her glasses.

"Sir," she said. "For the past hour and a half, a civilian woman has been requesting to meet with you. She says her name is—"
-----

Umi tapped out a tattoo on the dining room table, staring at the door in dejected anticipation. Somewhere above her head, she knew that Saki was waiting at a window, watching the streets. Since when was Saki at all close to Namiko? Umi asked herself, not caring that she wasn't going to receive an answer. The only thing that mattered was that it had been hours.

Someone knocked at the door. Umi threw herself into a run, knocking her chair askew without noticing. If it had been her, a certain part of her mind, noted, Saki would probably have run down the stairs to greet her. As it was, she ignored it in favor of blind hope, praying that the one outside the door would be—

She threw the door open, and looked up to see honey-colored hair and worried eyes.

—Namiko.

"Is Miss Nagawa in?" Mutsu asked. "I wanted to talk to her about earlier." Disappointment clenched around Umi's heart, but she hid it as best she could. Instead, she stood as tall as she could on weak knees just looking for an excuse to start knocking, and answered the battleship as best she could.

"No," she replied, her voice beginning to feel hoarse. "She's not in. Actually, we… She got angry," suddenly, her voice began to pour out like a waterfall, "like really angry, during dinner, and she just ran off. We haven't… seen her…" She felt Mutsu's eyes on her like a falling brick wall, and tried her best not to stumble. "… Not since then. And that was maybe two hours ago. Kaichou and Ashida-san are out looking for her, but her cell phone got smashed in her fight, and we… well…" She felt a hand on her shoulder, a warm, gentle hand.

"Don't worry about it," Mutsu said reassuringly. "I'll go find her. You should call your friends back. It'll be okay."

"But… But what am I supposed to do?" Umi begged. Was there really nothing for her to do, no way to help find Namiko?

Briefly, she thought she saw the look in Mutsu's eyes flicker, nearly become a gaze of condescension. "Just wait here and think about your place in things," she said. Then she turned and was gone.

Umi's place in things? What did that mean? Namiko had run off… she couldn't be blaming Umi for that, could she? Why? Umi hadn't had anything to do with that!

"Of course, such a childish food is perfectly suited for someone like you."

She… She hadn't had anything to do with Namiko running off. She hadn't.

… Had she?
-----

Ushio sat with her knees pulled in tight to her chest, gazing across the sky as purple-blackness spread gradually across. She could feel the damp sand wetting her skirt, scratching uncomfortably against and clinging to skin it touched, but she didn't really care. By now, she was finding it a bit hard to care. That morning, everything had felt so right. She had known exactly where she was going, and her friends were standing by her side. And now…

… Well, at least she still knew where she wanted to go.

Yae probably hadn't even registered the insult. Umi had misunderstood a simple liking for pancakes. Saki was probably trying to keep from escalating. Ushio just wanted things to go back to how they were that morning.

A low boom resounded throughout the air, and then footsteps approached at a casual pace.

"Hey kid," a familiar voice said, and Ushio looked up already knowing who it would be. Sure enough, Mutsu was looking down at her kindly. "Mind if I sit here?" she asked, sitting down and stretching her legs out.

"Suit yourself," Ushio replied sullenly. It wasn't like she could do anything if a battleship decided to take a seat anywhere she wanted. Although, come to think of it, had Mutsu just been taking a walk and happened to notice her there? No, given what little she knew of Mutsu as a person, the battleship likely would have called out to her first or something. Which meant that she was specifically looking for her? Why would she be doing that? And if she was… "How did you know I was here?" she asked. Mutsu sighed, looking out at the water lapping the shore.

"A lot of the girls have places they go when they want to be alone," she explained. "For Mutsuki, there's a cliff not far from the base, where we have a… memorial, for people who we've lost in the fighting. Akagi's got this one booth in Houshou's that she likes, it's a bit hard to see coming in the door and you can't see her through the windows. But the girls who haven't got a special hiding place?" She drew a hand across the horizon, across the water that turned an increasingly darker midnight shade. "We end up here, by the ocean. I think it calls to us somehow—However human we are now, once we were ships. We belonged out there… and I don't think we've all entirely forgotten that."

"Oh," Ushio replied, looking down at the sand. Little bits of it seemed to shine in what little light there was left. "I guess I see." She reached down inside herself, looking for something, anything, that felt like it wanted to be here at the seaside. She didn't find anything, which somehow disappointed her.

"Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" Mutsu asked, turning to look at Ushio more directly. She felt herself bunch up reflexively, wrapping her arms more tightly around her knees. She didn't want to talk. She just wanted…

"Why is so much going wrong all of a sudden?" she asked, resting her forehead on her knees. "Everyone's just started to tear themselves apart over me, and I… I can't…" Mutsu nodded sagely, as if she already understood the emotions (or sullen lack thereof) sitting deep in her stomach. But why would she? As far as Ushio knew, she wasn't a Natural-Born. How could she understand what she was going through?

"Well, first thing's first, I suppose. Have you had dinner?" Ushio's stomach growled at the thought of food and she flushed red with embarrassment. Mutsu laughed. "I suppose that's as good an answer as any! Come on," she smiled, standing and offering Ushio her hand. "Houshou's is always open late."

-----

The bar was more or less empty, except for Kaga sitting in a corner nursing a shot of whiskey. It was odd of her, Houshou thought, usually the carrier avoided alcohol—not on general principle, more out of practicality. In any case, it was an unusual slow moment in a day that had been rather unusual so far in any case. And then the door opened, and Houshou looked up from the table she was wiping to see Mutsu escort…

"As much of a pleasure it is to see you again, Miss Ushio," she said, "isn't it a little late for someone of your age to be here?" Mutsu clasped her hands apologetically.

"Sorry, Houshou," she said, bowing, "but she hasn't had anything to eat tonight, so I thought I'd take her here. She's not officially navy after all, so the mess hall—"

"Say no more," Houshou said, tucking her rag into a pocket on her apron. "Heaven forbid we leave this young woman with an empty stomach. I'll see if I can't throw something together." Walking behind the counter, she looked over at Kaga's table. She had a slightly raised eyebrow, as if she were silently questioning Houshou's motives. The bartender smiled at her serenely, and she turned back to her cup.

Scanning through her ingredients, Houshou quickly decided on what she could prepare for Ushio. Fortunately, a cold ham sandwich was something that could be put together relatively quickly. Thinking again, she opened up the fridge. She probably wouldn't be remiss in offering Ushio another amenity, would she?

"So," she heard Mutsu say, "How come you skipped dinner tonight, kid?" She could hear Ushio struggle briefly to pull herself up onto the bar stool.

"No reason," the destroyer girl said in a voice so unconvincing that Houshou would have called her on it in an instant. As things stood, it didn't seem that Ushio would be quite so amenable to having someone do so. She went back to chopping the lettuce.

"Might seem like it now, but it didn't a few hours ago," Mutsu replied. "Did it now?" Ushio grunted.

"Saki and Umi are angry at each other," Ushio replied curtly. She was still resisting opening up, Houshou noted, something that seemed uncharacteristic of the girl she had spoken to that morning. What had happened, then?

"I could tell that," Mutsu replied, and Houshou prayed that it wasn't a hint of irony that she heard in her voice. If Ushio thought even for a second that the battleship was making light of her troubles, that would set them back to square one.

"I mean, they're really angry," Ushio said emphatically, and Houshou could hear the thud of elbows on the counter. "That's—Saki—that's Tohda—is trying her best to not be angry, but U—Hoshikawa was just… doing everything she could to egg her on, and it's just… it's just back and forth!" Houshou placed the top on the sandwich, and, with a few deft cuts, sliced it into de-crusted triangles. Sweeping the crusts off the plate for later use, she carried the plate over to where the destroyer girl was sitting, and placed it in front of her. Ushio made a hurried grace, and set about devouring the food in front of her.

"Let me guess," Mutsu said, crossing her arms on the counter. "You've never seen them like this before?" Ushio paused in her meal to slump and shake her head sadly. Then Houshou heard the timer going off in the kitchen, and ran back in to take the pot off the burner.

"It's like seeing completely different people," Ushio said, her voice smaller than any Houshou had heard before, and she had been there when Admiral Goto had arrived, when he had first had to deal with the real scope of the duty he had been given. Some of those memories… were worse than others.

"I can imagine," Mutsu said sympathetically. Houshou wasn't sure of Ushio's response, but the battleship continued. "In my third engagement—I mean, upon getting back—I noticed an Abyssal destroyer line up a shot on Nagato, one she hadn't noticed. I didn't have time to think, and… I took the shot. Right here, right above my navel." Mutsu chuckled, and Houshou recalled the incident herself. "She screamed at me."

Houshou thought back to finding Mutsu hiding under a table in the mess hall shaking like a leaf. If that had been Nagato screaming… Well then. She examined the pot, and made a pleased noise under her breath.

"It's just… I've known Umi longer than I have any of… of the others," Ushio said, "She's always around me, looking out for me, I guess… And… she was just being mean."

"Eat up, kid," Mutsu said, and Houshou could hear Ushio begin devouring her sandwich again. "Sometimes, people end up showing sides of themselves that are… ugly. It's always a bit of a shock when it happens, I know, but… it happens. But," she added, drawing the word out, "I'm guessing it's something that happened because of that?"

"She—it's what she said, to Ashida-san," Ushio confirmed. "Tohda pointed out an item on the menu, and Ashida decided to order that, and Ho-Hoshikawa… She just…" There was a familiar thunk of flesh forehead hitting ceramic plate.

"She made an issue of it?" Mutsu asked gently. It sounded like this friend of Ushio's had a very with me or against me attitude. Something, Houshou thought as she poured and mixed, that could quite definitely cause problems in a friendship.

"Ashida… probably didn't realize…" Ushio said sullenly, "but Hoshikawa… it was so cruel!" Houshou looked down at the almost finished drink, and reached into the cabinet just above her.

"It sounds like," Mutsu agreed. Her voice sounded like she was terribly, terribly sad. Ushio seemed to be someone who treasured those around her. Having those people try to hurt each other… That was probably painful on a deep, deep level.

"And… It's… it's my…" Ushio struggled. Houshou's ears perked up and she turned to look at the Natural-Born. Her shoulders were beginning to shake, and her breathing sounded off.

"Don't," Mutsu said firmly. "You are not allowed to blame yourself for this. That's ridiculous." Returning to her cooking, Houshou froze. Blame herself? What cause could Ushio have to do so? This was beginning to sound even more serious than she had thought it was.

"But—" Ushio sobbed, sounding for all the world like she was being held together with bubblegum and shoelaces, "but I was the one they were fighting about. I know it! I—" And with that, Houshou strode up to where she was sitting, and placed a drink on the counter. Ushio looked up to see a steaming mug filled with dark brown liquid.

Hot chocolate, no whipped cream.

"Thank you," Ushio managed. "I… I… thanks…" Tears plinked against plate. Houshou caught the sound of glass on table, and she looked over at Kaga's seat to see the carrier had her arm raised, empty glass set down in front of her. She pulled out a few bills and placed them on the table, pushed her chair out, and made for the door. Houshou smiled in spite of herself. Kaga wasn't generally one for emotional moments. She stepped around the counter, watched Mutsu pull Ushio in to a hug, and walked towards the counter table.

"Whoa there," she heard Mutsu say. "Haven't you already cried enough for one day?"

Houshou briefly scanned the notes that Kaga had left, then stuffed them into her pocket. She picked up Kaga's glass, and began to walk back to the counter, inent on washing it, then coming back and wiping down the table.

And then Mutsu's hand went to her ear, and her face went from a gentle smile to stunned—and, Houshou thought, just a little bit of muted horror. She could tell why—she had picked up the signal herself.

"Yes sir," Mutsu said. "Orders received. I'll be there momentarily." She looked down at Ushio, who's eyes were screwed shut and fists were clenched tightly. The girl looked for all the world like she was trying to force the tears back, or lock them away so deep that they couldn't get out. Considering what had just come through, Houshou couldn't blame her.

"I'm sorry," Mutsu said, "but—"

"I know," Ushio interrupted. "I heard too. My parents are here."
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Softly chatting with each other, the three Akizuki sisters simply watched as the others were all dancing around in the impromptu dance floor of the Mess Hall. Tilting her head to the side, Teruzuki frowned some as she pointed towards a flushed looking Yamato. "What is with Yamato-Sama?"

Glancing around, Hatsuzuki shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't know, but she's not the only one. Look over at Akagi-Sama." When her sisters did so, they noticed that Akagi also looked flushed but had a large smile on her face. "Could it be the food?"

A chuckle made them turn to find Harry there balancing some plates on his hands and on his head. The three Destroyers' mouths watered as they noticed that there was one of the small Christmas cakes on there. Something that made Harry chuckle some. "Just some adult drinks that Haida brought with her. Nothing to worry about... Anyways, brought you something."

He then placed the first plate down on Akizuki's lap with her face lighting up. "Ah! Is this for us? Thank you!"

Quickly nodding, Teruzuki bit her lip and grabbed the fork. "If we split it this way, then we can all have enough!"

On Akizuki's other side, Hatsuzuki had a serious look on her face as she narrowed her eyes. "That does sound about right. But which piece goes to which?" Hearing a sigh though, she looked up to see a bemused look on Harry's face as he grabbed the plate balanced on his head. "Harry-Chan?"

Just sighing again, Harry held out both plates to Teruzuki and Hatsuzuki who stared at them in surprise. "These are for you two." As they opened their mouths, Harry snorted at them. "And if you say that these should be just for the Battleships and such, I'll double the amount that I am giving you."

Much to his amusement, all three mouths closed with a snap. Though he was confused by the blushes that sprang up on their faces though before Akizuki spoke up. "Thank you, Harry-Chan. We've already eaten a lot and just don't want to be a drain on supplies."

Harry however only chuckled and then reached over to tap her on the nose. "You're really not a drain at all. In fact, as far as I am concerned you should eat more." Shrugging, the black haired boy then continued. "If I could, I would probably be feeding you all sorts of food until you understand that." Blushes sprang up on all three Destroyers' faces at that and Harry internally snickered some. 'How can those three look so cute?'

Suddenly, Akizuki interrupted his thoughts as she played some with her skirt and looked down. "D-do you mean that, Harry-Chan? That if you could, you would give us all sorts of food? Whenever you could?"

Confused, Harry only nodded and smiled at them. "Well, yeah, of course I'm serious about that. The three of you should really know me better by now. If I could, I would stuff all three of you until you're so full of food, you would need to roll you around."

Hands clutched close to her mouth, Teruzuki looked at him in some awe. "Y-you would?! Enough food to burst our holds!?" At his nod, she let out a whimper which made Harry blink at her. "A-ah, that..."

Just tilting his head to the side, Harry blinked a bit. 'Wonder why all three of them are blushing?' Shaking that off, he stretched some and looked around only to turn back to the three when a hand clasped around his wrist. "Hmm? Something wrong?"

Fidgeting, Hatsuzuki glanced away. "Well... could you sit here with us? Please?"

Only blinking, Harry gave another look around before shrugging. "If you want, I can." A frown then crossed his face. "But um... I don't know where there is another chair..."

To his surprise though, Akizuki patted her thigh with a smile. "That's okay, Harry-Chan. You can sit down here."

Seconds passed as Harry looked back and forth before he raised his eyebrows. "Wait, you mean that?"

A smile was on Akizuki's face as she nodded some. "H-hai, I do. We'd like for you to sit with us for a bit and since there's no nearby seats, you can sit right here."

Considering it, Harry scratched his cheek in thought before he finally nodded. "Um, okay then." Once he sat down and was pulled so that his back was against her chest, Harry tilted his head to the side. "Is this okay?"

Brightly smiling, Akizuki nodded some as her sisters had similar looks. Looking down at the plate in her hands, she licked her lips before taking a piece with her fork and popping it into her mouth. Within moments, the Destroyer had her eyes closed and was purring while Hatsuzuki leaned towards her with a finger on her lips. "Is it good?"

Opening her eyes, Akizuki chewed and then swallowed before nodding quickly. "It's really good!"

Awed looks crossed her sister's faces before they took bites of their own cakes much to Harry's amusement. Teruzuki did not help that by cupping her own cheek with a happy smile on her face. "It's so good! Yummy!"

Meanwhile, Hatsuzuki's hair flaps were moving up and down as she had stars in her eyes. "It's wonderful..." Several seconds later, Hatsuzuki was staring down at the cake in confusion. "But why do the Americans always go on about it not being good? It's delicious and rich!"

Nodding, Teruzuki frowned herself as she glanced at Akizuki who had her eyes closed and was enjoying it. "I know, right?" Leaning forward, she had a serious expression on her face as she gave a sharp nod. "Jersey-San and some of the others gave me crazy looks when I said that they taste good!'

While shaking his head, Harry gave a chuckle. "I think that is because they're used to the mass produced version." A grimace crossed his face at a particular memory. "They're not exactly great and... sometimes can be pretty old."

Confused, Hatsuzuki pulled the fork out of her mouth and chewed some. "But I thought that they're supposed to be old though... Or the British and American ones anyways." At the looks she got, she shrugged. "I noticed Taigei-San making some once and asked why she was making them more then a month early. She said something about them aging."

Lips twitching a bit, Harry pointed at the corner of his lips. "You, um, got some there." Ignoring the now blushing Hatsuzuki who quickly licked that area, Harry shrugged. "Yeah, for real good Christmas cakes and fruitcakes, you need to let them age. But while they do so, you add brandy to them in order to keep them nice and moist while keeping mold away. I think that some people even make them a year ahead of time."

Heads tilted to the side, all three Akizuki sisters hummed a bit at that before shaking their heads. Akizuki then took off another piece of her cake before bringing it up to Harry's mouth. "Here, try some. It's really good!"

Blinking, Harry looked from the brightly smiling Akizuki to Hatsuzuki. Just before he was about to look at Teruzuki, he heard a gasp from her and turned in time to see her take a piece and hold it out. "Here! Try some of mine as well!"

When he went to say something, Hatsuzuki was also holding out a piece on her fork. "I have some as well."

With a blink, Harry looked between them. "But... those are yours though. And I can only get my own..."

However, Akizuki was having none of it and shook her head. "Nope! We insist!"

Beside her, Hatsuzuki nodded some with a frown on her face. "Hai, what Nee-San said. "

On the other side, Teruzuki nodded with puffed out cheeks as she clinched her hands, one of which was around her fork. "They're right, Harry-Chan! Besides, there's enough here for all of us!"

In reply, Harry could only scratch his cheek some. "Well... I guess that is should be okay. But not that much, okay!" He gave them all looks. "I've already eaten a lot so there's not a lot of room in my stomach."

Leaning forward, Harry didn't notice all three Destroyers watching as he opened his mouth and took the cake off the fork in a single bit. As she smiled and nodded, Akizuki hummed. "It's really good, isn't it?"

With a chuckle, Harry smiled back at her. "It is, but I kind of knew that already. After all, it's a family recipe."

As he took the bite off Teruzuki's, he missed the looks that all three shipgirls had at that.

Out on the dancefloor, meanwhile, Rose was staring up into Haruna's eyes as they glided across the floor. After a few moments, the tsukumogami giggled a bit as she took Haruna's hand and slid it into a different position. "You can move your hand some, Haruna."

Blushing some, Haruna only nodded before pulling her girlfriend even tighter. "Hai, Haruna knows that. But she wasn't sure if Rose-Chan would have wanted that."

Simply giggling some more, Rose looked up with sparkling eyes at Haruna. "I am perfectly alright with it as long as it is you, Haruna." Leaning forward, she sighed as she laid her head on Haruna's chest. "And quite happy for you to do so."

Haruna smiled some more before nodding. "And Haruna would be happy to do so for Rose-Chan." At another bunch of giggles, the Battleship squinted her eyes some. "Is Rose-Chan drunk?"

In reply, Rose hummed some before shaking her head. "Not drunk, I think. Perhaps a slight bit tipsy though." Frowning, she glanced around and smiled. "And I do not think that I am the only one at the moment."

Following her gaze, Haruna giggled softly as some of the shipgirls were starting to get a bit more then tipsy, Especially if Nagato hugging a confused Wanko and going on about 'Giant moeblob daughters' was anything to go by. Haruna did note though that Supprin and Ooyodo, who had blushes on their cheeks, were leaving for somewhere. But then she shook it off. "Haruna noticed, Rose-Chan."

After a moment, Rose nodded and sighed before laying her head back on Haruna's chest as the two danced to the music. "Mmm." Several seconds later, she sighed and nuzzled the shipgirl whose arms were around her. "You're dancing quite well, Haruna."

Softly smiling, Haruna leaned down and kissed Rose on the head. "Haruna had a good teacher in Rose-Chan. After all, she taught Haruna all about dancing."

That brought another blush to Rose's face, this time having nothing to do with alcohol. "I... I doubt that, Haruna. I may know a thing or two about dancing, but not that much."

Fingers placed themselves under Rose's chin and slowly tilted her face up before Haruna gently kissed her. Then pulling back, the Kongou gave her a smile that always made a warm bubbling feeling rise in Rose. "Haruna thinks that Rose-Chan is underestimating herself. Rose-Chan taught a lot of shipgirls how to dance after all..."

Scratching her cheek in a manner not unlike Harry, Rose flushed with a pleased smile. "Well, I suppose so." Then she burrowed her face into Haruna's chest much to said Battleship's amusement. "Though I still do not think that I helped that much."

With a hum, Haruna shook her head some. "Haruna thinks otherwise and knows that Rose-Chan got a lot of thanks for teaching how to dance."

Off to the side, Haruna could see Kana, flushed a bit, get up and make her way over to where Fubuki was watching Yuudachi and Mutsuki twirling around each other. She couldn't hear what Kaga's twin said to the Destroyer, but there was a thoughtful look on Fubuki's face as the Destroyer searched the face of the Battleship's. But then, the look melted into a smile and Fubuki took her hand before leading her onto the dance floor close to her two friends who smiled at the two. Soon, the Destroyer and the Battleship were enjoying themselves on the dance floor, though after a few minutes, Haruna shook her head as Fubuki was changed out for Yuudachi.

However, when Haruna looked towards where her sister was, she felt happiness fill her. Mainly because there was Goto and Kongou dancing together. But what was really telling was how the two only had eyes for each other, as if everyone else did not exist. 'Haruna is glad that Onee-Sama has her Teitoku now.' Looking down, Haruna smiled even more at the sight of Rose holding her as close as she was holding the tsukumogami. 'And Haruna is glad that she has her Rose-Chan.'

Soon enough for Haruna and Rose both, the rest of the world faded out as the two simply moved to the music. Both of them with smiles on their faces.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Several hours later, the party was winding down and there were only a few shipgirls and other people left. By the DJ stand, Ashigara and Yonehara were dancing with each other as one of the last songs of the night was being played. Out on the dancefloor, Natsumi raised an eyebrow at Louisiana who was trying her best to dance with the kitsune despite their sizes. "Any particular reason that you wanted to dance with me?"

Eyes twinkling, Louisiana shook her head and chuckled. "Non, except for wanting to have a dance with you, ma chérie." Twirling her around, the Battleship's smile widened some. "I must admit, you have improved."

Blushing some, Natsumi only shrugged. "I've been taking lessons from Rose-San since she's been giving them out. I... got reasons for wanting to know how to dance."

Just humming, Louisiana nodded. "Oui, and I think that I know of one of those reasons. Perhaps one with green eyes and messy hair, ma chérie?"

That only caused Natsumi to blush even more before she gave the lightly laughing Battleship a piercing look. "Like you are much better, Louisiana." Despite how long it had been, it was still a bit of a struggle not to add honorifics to the Battleship's name even though she had asked for none to be added. "You probably want to dance with him as well."

In reply though, Lousiana only shrugged. "Perhaps, ma chérie. But then, I have already danced with mon chéri earlier. You, on the other hand..."

With a shrug, Louisiana took in the blush on Natsumi's face before the kitsune shrugged it off with a sigh. "I still cannot believe you." At the raised eyebrow, she rolled her eyes. "Harry-Chan, I am not. It's not very hard to see that you're, um..."

Twirling her around again, Louisiana nodded. "Interested in you both? Non, it is not hard to see as I have made no secret of it. Both of you saved me from the darkness and for that... I can never repay you. But I can give you both my heart as I have." Pulling Natsumi close, the American smiled. "Whether you take it, is up to you."

Eyes narrowing, Natsumi chuckled weakly. "Um, I don't really think that it works like that."

Lips curling upwards, Louisiana shook her head. "There is a word in Japanese that I have found out about, mon chéri . One that I rather like."

Somewhat interested, Natsumi cocked her head to the side. "A word in Japanese? And which one is that?"

Her lips curling even more up into a smile, Louisiana let out a throaty chuckle as she leaned in close. "Why, it's one that I prefer. Sai-shou-dou-kin."

It took several seconds for Natsumi to put it together in her head. But when she did so, the kitsune's face lit up in a bright blush. "Y-y-you! T-that is... You realize what that means!?"

Louisiana only smiled and stood back up. "Oui, I do. Why do you think that it is my favorite word?" Spotting something, she slowed down and then gave a nod. "Mon chéri."

Turning, Natsumi spotted Harry standing there and smiling as he rubbed the back of his head. "Um, is it okay for me to cut in?"

All Louisiana did was let go of Natsumi with a small smile before nodding and gesturing at her. "Non, it is perfectly okay. After all, I do not think that you have had the chance to dance with mon chéri yet." She then looked towards where Shinano was quietly talking with Hamakaze near the door. "And I think that it is time for Shinano and myself to head home. Best not to worry Madame White Plains with keeping her out too long." Both Harry and Natsumi said their goodbyes and gave Louisiana a hug. But the Battleship kept the one with Natsumi going for a few seconds while she smiled down at her. "I do not need an answer just yet, mon chéri. I am willing to wait for some years before that and would prefer such."

With that, the Battleship walked off towards where Shinano was as Harry gave Natsumi a look. "Um, Natsumi-Chan? What did she mean by that?"

Looking in the direction of the Battleship, Natsumi watched as Louisiana looked over her shoulder and winked. That just made Natsumi blush more and pull Harry to another part of the dancefloor, not noticing the amused look on Louisiana's face. "It's nothing, nothing at all."

Once they came to a stop though, Harry placed his hands on her hips and began to sway to the music as Natsumi put her arms over his shoulders. Harry though was smiling brightly as he noticed something about Natsumi's ponytail. "You're using one of the ribbons!"

There was a smile on Natsumi's face as she nodded some. "Hai, I chose one of the gold ones for the party." Her smile softened a bit and became rather shy as she glanced away. "I couldn't wear it with my normal Miko clothes due to the color, but I think it looks nice with my dress."

Nodding, Harry chuckled some with a shrug. "Yeah, it looks pretty good."

Simply moving in a circle, Natsumi placed her head onto his shoulder and sighed. "They are pretty nice. It's odd though."

Eyebrow raising, Harry looked down at her. "It's odd? Really?" At her nod, he frowned some. "How so?"

Natsumi gave a small shrug at that. "Well... To be honest, Harry-Chan, when I was younger I never thought that I would be getting stuff like this. It's something like out of a western fairy tale..." Internally, she continued the thought. 'And you're the Prince.'

Head tilting to the side, Harry considered that. "You didn't?"

Shrugging, Natsumi turned her head enough to look at him. "Yeah, don't get me wrong, my family is... known, in certain circles. But it's been a long time since stuff like this was commonly given to any member. And, well... anything important has been kept locked away safely just in case. I wouldn't be seeing any of it until years from now. But you've given me a pearl necklace, that fox charm you sent from Hogwarts for my birthday, my knife, and now the ribbons. They're mine and not belonging to my family. You have no idea how special they are to me."

An chuckle burst from Harry as he shook his head. "Well, I did make them to be special. After all, you are special to me."

That caused a blush to spring up on Natsumi's face before she shook her head. "And that is just it, Harry-Chan. That is what makes them so special to me and why I never expected something like them. You made my ribbons, my charm, and my brush set specifically for me with your own hands and magic. You have no idea how... how good that feels." A sniffle then escaped her. "Though with how special they are, I got to figure out how to get keep them safe."

Unknown to her, Harry frowned some and looked up. 'Keep them safe, huh? Hmm...'

Soon enough though, the song ended and Natsumi and Harry pulled apart. A sound though caused them to turn and blink at the sight of Haru in a garbage can which made Natsumi sigh. "Oh Kami... Oba-Chan is drunk. And since Haha-ue and Chichi-ue took my Imoutos and Nii-San home earlier, that means that I need to get her home."

With a frown on his face, Harry scratched his cheek. "Do you?" At the look, Harry pointed to a room off to the side. "That's where those of us who cook sometimes take naps. Then you can just leave her there for the night." Hearing giggles coming from inside the can, he barely raised an eyebrow as Natsumi pulled out her phone and took several pictures."Natsumi-Chan?"

Grimacing a bit, Natsumi shook her head. "And leave her covered in, um... that? No thanks. But isn't there a shower somewhere nearby? That way I can get her sobered up a little hopefully?"

For a moment, Harry considered the question and nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes. It's this way." As Natsumi followed him, the black haired wizard frowned. "Hopefully no one is using it at the moment. I mean, it doesn't get used very often unless we need to stick around for really big meals, but we keep it clean. There's also some bathrobes too."

All Natsumi did was nod at that. "To be honest, Harry-Chan, that's good enough." Suddenly frowning, Natsumi glanced towards the DJ desk and then looked away at how Ashigara was practically wrapped around her boyfriend. "Um... why is there a shower here anyways?"

Harry considered the question before shrugging. "Um, from what I heard there was a number of reasons. One was that since sometimes the cooks can be here for hours making food, it lets them take a quick shower and then head home after changing. And there was also something about how with a shower here, if an Abyssal attack hit then they had someplace to get clean."

Interested, Natsumi slowly nodded at that though she blinked as she came to a stop. "Uh, Harry-Chan?"

When Harry looked at her, he found a large, toothy grin crossing her face. "Yeah, Natsumi-Chan? What is it?"

Slowly, she brought up a finger and pointed. "Look right there, where Yamato-San and Enterprise-San are. See what's happening?"

Turning, the wizard's eyebrows shot up at the sight of Enterprise cuddled into Yamato, face buried partially in the Battleship's chest. Meanwhile, Yamato herself had her head on top of Enterprise's and her arms wrapped around the Carrier. "Oh wow..."

He then looked towards Natsumi who nodded. "Now that I never expected to see. And they're adorable like that."

Eyes twinkling, Harry grinned a bit. "They look so peaceful too. So... are we actually going to?"

Grin positively predatory, Natsumi snorted. "Of course we are." Both of them as one whipped out their phones and took a picture. "Kind of amazing though, the two of them are so tsun-tsun for each other. Never thought that I would catch them like this." Then Yamato let out a loud, rumbling snore and the kitsune blinked. "Or that Yamato-San snored like that."

With a shrug, Harry shook his head. "I knew about her snoring a long time ago. Musashi-Oba usually has earphones to drown it out." Another unlady-like snore burst from the Battleship and Harry shook his head. "And loud music."

Just wincing, Natsumi nodded before pulling him along. Off to the side, she could see DesDiv6 supporting Tenryuu who was ranting about "That British Captain" in her drunken state. The fact she was also going on about something that made Inazuma and Ikazuchi turn green almost caused her to snicker. It was then that they entered the hallway to the showers to check on them and froze. Now, it was not the fact that there was two someones there that caused them to freeze. Nor was it that they were Akagi and Kaga.

Rather, it was the fact that currently Akagi had her mouth over Kaga's with the other Carrier weakly struggling with a massive blush on her face.

Having heard them, Akagi stopped her kiss and turned to smile drunkingly at the frozen Harry and Natsumi not even noticing the kitsune put something away. "Oh, hello you two." As she blinked, she looked towards Kaga. "You should say hello to them as well."

Kaga only murmured something as she twitched. Looking between them, Harry coughed some. "Um, Akagi-Oba? What... what are you doing here?"

With a blink, Akagi furrowed her eyebrows and looked around before raising a finger. "I was, um... searching for bauxite! In Kaga-Chan's mouth!"

Utter silence met her before Natsumi slowly blinked. "You were looking for... bauxite. In her mouth."

Rapidly nodding, Akagi giggled some. "Hai!"

Sharing a look, Harry and Natsumi came to a conclusion and slowly backed out of the hallway. Once the door was closed, Harry turned towards Natsumi only to blink as he found her doing something on her phone. At his look, she shrugged. "I managed to snap a picture."

After some thought, Harry only shrugged. "Send me a copy just in case." Getting a nod from her, the two began to walk away from the door. "So... call your parents to deal with Haru-San?"

Natsumi only nodded. "Call my parents. And I'll be staying at your place tonight."

The only reply that Harry gave to that was to nod and place an arm around her shoulders.

-*-*-*-*-

That British Captain" in her drunken state.

Click to shrink...

This line leads to the NSFW Smut Scene on the QQ thread

Darthcourt's note

Saishoudoukin (new window, NSFW)
When a guy is living with his wife and his mistress at the same time - basically what would be the case if Gov. Sanford's Argentine friend moved into the Governor's Mansion in Columbia with Mrs. Sanford's approval, and without the latter leaving.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Wow, that was cute. So much adorable, so little space.

I'm... eheheeehhhh... snippet
Sun Down

-----

The funny thing was, she had been feeling better. It seemed to be true, what they said about having a good cry. Crying into Mutsu's arms, letting the emotions be known and allowing them to pour themselves out of her. All the pain, the anger, the sorrow, flowing away for the odd sort of relief that came after a long journey.

And then relief had been pulverized by fear returning. Houshou had insisted that she finish the hot chocolate, but the delicious drink now tasted ashen in her mouth. She drank it down dutifully, and dropped down to the floor. Beside her, Mutsu rose to her feet, rooting through her wallet.

"You don't have to pay me now," Houshou said, placing a hand on Mutsu's own. "You can do that later." Mutsu nodded to her gratefully, and then began to walk towards the door. Ushio followed her, dreading what would come next with all her being. Her parents were there. What was this going to mean? What did it all mean?
-----

As a doctor, Yumeno would normally advise her patients against making a diet of instant ramen. For the most part, she made a point of eating healthy herself. But that did nothing to change the fact that cup ramen was her favorite food, bar none. So sometimes, after a long day when she felt like rewarding herself, she would dig some out of the cupboard and set about heating water.

"Hmm… What haven't I watched recently?" she asked herself aloud, opening a cabinet and flipping through her DVDs. She skipped over the historical dramas, scrutinized the (admittedly small) number of romances that her mother liked to give her on her birthdays, and then stopped on a box set. "What have we here… Ah, Max Heart? Don't mind if I do!" The timer beeped, and she swept back over to the table, removing the paper from the top of the cup and breathing in the—

Knock knock.

And breathing in the—

Knock knock.

Breathing in—

Knocking intensifies.

"Fiiiine," she whined, putting the ramen back on the table. Grumbling under her breath, she stalked over to the door and shoved it open. And looking back at her was one of the most famous women in Japan.

"Hello, Doctor Norihara," Kongou said. "May I come in?" Yumeno stared a few more seconds before realizing that she was probably supposed to respond.

"If I said no, could I stop you?" she asked dryly. Kongou giggled, before her face turned serious.

"Well, I wouldn't come in," she said, "but I'm here about the… service that you rendered us yesterday morning." Tanya, Yumeno thought. Had something happened to the captive Abyssal? Was she in trouble somehow? "The situation has changed, and there is something that I need to discuss with you immediately." Worry began to rise from Yumeno's stomach into her chest.

"Come on in," she said, stepping out of the way. "I'll make some tea if that's alright with you, though I'm not very good at making it…"

"Maybe some other time," Kongou replied. "Right now, this takes precedence." She stepped into the room.
-----

Tenryuu had thought she might as well see how Saeko was doing. Sure, visiting hours were over, but she could still find a nurse somewhere and ask how her old Kohai was. Her not-so-great-as-it-turned-out idea was to blame for her condition, so she figured that she might as well. She stepped through the front door, and, turning to look for the receptionist's desk, stopped cold. "Well I'll be," she grinned, looking at the small group standing there.

A girl who looked about ten, bouncing on the balls of her feet. A six-year-old boy, fighting off sleep with all of his strength, held in one arm by their father, the man who was wearing that same old denim jacket that he had loved so much in high school.

Tenyruu raised one arm into the air as high as she could and waved. "Hey, Yo-kun!" she called out—oops, the kid was completely awake now. Did not mean to do that. "Long time no see!" Nijima Yoichi turned to look at her, his own face lighting up in a smile.

"Ryoko-sempai," he said, lowering his son to the ground. "How've ya been?"

"Can't complain," she replied mischievously. "And I've heard that you actually decided on a girl. Sounds like a few people owe me money!" Yoichi flushed with embarrassment, and Tenryuu considered her joke a success. "Anyhow, I was just stopping in to see how Saeko-chan's doing. I'm guessing you're hear for the same reason?"

"Of course, I am," he said. "I see you haven't changed since hitting Sonohara in the head with a baseball bat." Oh, he had to bring that up? Well that was a game that Tenryuu could play as well if she wanted.

"Remember the time you tried to splint your arm with Benio's—" she began slyly, only to stop when Yoichi leaned down and clapped his hands over his son's ears.

"Heh," he chuckled awkwardly, "Those were some pretty crazy days back then, weren't they."

"And these aren't now?" Tenryuu asked. "Excuse me, I'll talk to the desk lady." The receptionist didn't even bother to complain. She simply looked at Yoichi with a crestfallen look. What had he been talking to her about in trying to inquire after his wife?
-----

"Asking about me?" Yumeno asked. Loathe as she was to admit it, this discussion kind of trumped her ramen and Maho Shojo. "Why would she be doing that?" Kongou shrugged apologetically.

"We don't know," she admitted. "She seems to want to ask you questions or something. Now, the important part is that the Admiral has given this the greenlight, but only if you agree to meet her."

"Sure," said Yumeno.

"I'll be in the room the entire time, and we'll try to keep you—" Kongou trailed off, giving Yumeno a puzzled look. "I'm sorry," she said, "could you please repeat that?"

"I'll do it," Yumeno said. "I'll go and talk to her. That's what you were asking me to do, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but…" Kongou sighed. "Has anyone ever told you that you can be kind of strange?"

"Can't say that they have. Why?"

"Dess…"
-----

Mutsu walked through the halls, guiding Ushio. It was a fine time for this to happen, considering the day that she had been having. Over the radio, Ooyodo's voice had sounded concerned to her, which was usually the Ooyodo version of "this isn't going right." Why would that be, Mutsu wondered. Was there something wrong with Ushio's parents? Or were they causing some kind of unusual problem?

Corner. Hallway. Corner. Desk. Hallway.

Earlier on, Mutsu was kind of hoping for Ushio's parents to arrive. The sooner they did, the sooner that everyone could sit down and figure out what to do. But after the repeated blows that had come over the course of the day, Mutsu was feeling a little leerier of what would come next. Because the emotional state that Ushio had been in earlier? That wasn't something that made her enthusiastic about discussing the girl's future.

And then suddenly, they were opening a door and stepping out towards the front desk, and Mutsu honestly wished that the walk had been a little longer. By the way Ushio faltered and hesitated, she might have been wishing something similar. Apprehensively, Mutsu noted that now she felt even worse about what was going to happen. And then…

"Namiko!"

A woman who had been standing in front of the front desk was suddenly running over towards her—Ushio's mother, given how she looked like an adult version of the destroyer beside her. At the line of seats against the wall, she saw a man with glasses and a suit, and a teenaged boy in a T-shirt and jeans stand and begin to make their way over. Mutsu looked down at the woman who was embracing Ushio, and felt sweat begin to run down the back of her neck.

Mrs. Nagawa's appearance was haggard, hair in disarray and clothes a mismatched mess. By the way that she was squeezing her daughter, almost weeping, it looked like she was a bit hysterical. Not good, Mutsu thought.

"Oh Namiko, you're alright, you're alright, did they do anything to you? Don't worry, Mommy's here now, I'll make everything alright. You—young lady—" Mutsu cast about before realizing that Mrs. Nagawa was referring to her. She couldn't remember the last time she had been referred to as "young lady," and the tone was something that she could honestly do without. "Thank you for bringing our daughter to us. I suppose we won't need to speak with the Admiral after all."

Now that was unexpected. "Excuse me?" she asked, worry seeping into her tone. The teenager caught her tone and glanced between her and Ushio, something that she silently commended him for. "I'm—"

"Come on now, Namiko," the woman said, "We're going home now."

"Mom," Ushio stammered as her mother grabbed her by the hand and began to pull her towards the door. "What are you talking about? I'm—"

"Don't worry, sweety," her mother replied. "We're going to go home, and all of this will go away."

"Go away?" Ushio asked. "What do you mean, go away? This isn't something that—"

"Namiko," the man with the glasses, her father replied. "We're getting you out of here. We were terrified that we lost you. I knew this was a bad idea from the beginning, we should never have let you go…"

"No."

"… home, where it's safe..." Mr. Nagawa trailed off, looking at his daughter in askance. "Excuse me?"

"No," Ushio repeated. "I-I can't go home! I want to… I need to be here!" She set her feet, and suddenly, Mrs. Nagawa's lost purchase on the floor and she skidded in place before turning to face her daughter.

"Namiko," she said in a hushed tone, "What are you talking about?"

"I have to fight, Mom," the destroyer pleaded. "I need to do what I can, where I can… Where they need me. I have to-I have to fight!" Mutsu thought that she saw sorrow in the woman's eyes briefly before her jaw set and her visage turned stormy.

"I don't know what they've been telling you, young lady," she said, "but it doesn't matter. We're going back—"

"Go back?!?" Ushio exploded, tearing her hand from her mother's with such force that her feet left the ground for a split second. "Go back?" she shrieked, rigging forming on her body. Mrs. Nagawa looked at her with horror in her eyes. "From THIS? HOW?"

"Oh my baby…" she said, reaching out towards her daughter again. "What did they do to you?"

"What who did to me?" Ushio raged. "I did this to myself!"

Horror gave way to frustration to barely concealed wrath. "Nagawa Namiko," her mother growled. "You listen to me." She stepped forward, grabbing her daughter's unarmed hand with a white-knuckle grip. "You are not fighting anyone. You are coming home with us, and all of this will blow over, and everything will go back to the way it was." No, Mutsu pleaded, stop, this isn't what she needs! She had to get involved, had to say something, but before she could open her mouth, Mrs. Nagawa finished.

"This is not who you are."

Shit.

Ushio froze, except for a tremble in her frame invisible to human eyes and barely visible to Mutsu's. "Maybe…" she bit out. "Maybe if I went back… pretended that nothing had ever happened… Maybe I wouldn't be Ushio anymore…"

"There, see?" her mother said, satisfied. "Now come on and we'll—"

"But—" Ushio continued, fists clenched so tight that they could have crushed bone—and Mutsu had seen that, too, when she had traveled with Kongou and Kamikaze and a man had decided that he could get away with feeling the destroyer up in the presence of the legendary battleships— "If I did that… then I sure as hell wouldn't be Nagawa Namiko."

"Eh?"

The destroyer broke into another run, dragging her mother from her feet and leaving her sprawling on the floor as she smashed through the door and disappeared. The woman pulled herself to her knees and stared after her daughter. Suddenly, she seemed so small, as if something had been torn out of her.

Mutsu grit her teeth. This… They would be extremely blessed—because luck had been set firmly against them from the start—if this had any sort of an easy ending.
-----

Saki was confused when Umi came walking up the stairs. Not by the simple act—she had had the feeling that the girl would be coming up to bite into her sooner or later. It was her bearing—Umi's steps were just short of stumbling, and her face was a mixture of horror and sorrow.

"Tohda-san," she said, and her voice strained so painfully that Saki could tell why she had come to her after the day's enmity. "Did I hurt Namiko?"

Saki sighed, and crossed her arms. What could she do but tell the truth?

"Well," she said, looking back at the moment in the restaurant that Namiko had gone from miserable to enraged. "you definitely ticked her off. And hurt… I think I can see that. So yeah, maybe you did." Umi dropped to her knees, tears filling her eyes.

"But I… I didn't want to…" she whimpered. Saki sighed, and stood. The lengthy separation from Umi had done wonders to calm her temper, so what might have come out as sardonic and rude was instead calm and matter-of-fact, meant to heal rather than to hurt.

"I know you didn't," she said. "No one wants to hurt the person they care about like that. But what we want to happen isn't always what ends up happening. And when you get angry, really angry like that, you end up… making mistakes." She began to walk over to Umi, who was sobbing now. "What matters is what you do after you make the mistake. So. What do you want to do?"

"I… I…" Umi attempted. "I'm sooorrryyyyy!!" Saki knelt down in front of the wailing girl, pulling her in close and hugging her.

"I know," she said. "I'm sorry too. And now… I think there's someone we both need to apologize to."

This was what they all needed. For them to apologize for hurting her like this. They would talk things out, fix things. They were going to make things right with Namiko.

This, Saki sincerely hoped, would fix everything.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Well, I tore her down. Now I've got to try to build her back up.
Wet Shoes

-----

Ushio's parents hadn't moved from their places in the past few minutes. Mutsu had simply sat down in one of the seats, massaging her temples. Internally, she debated whether or not she should go after Ushio. After suffering one whammy after another the day through, she honestly couldn't say that the girl would be all that willing to listen. Over behind the front desk, the man on duty was giving everyone a deadpan glare—he must have been feeling annoyed at the Nagawas after dealing with them for however long, and didn't seem to be offering much in the way of sympathy.

To be completely honest, this was outside of Mutsu's area of expertise from the beginning. On the other hand, she didn't think that she could leave the girl alone, especially after this. Maybe Ushio wouldn't want to listen to her, but on the other hand…

She sighed, standing and resting the fingers of her right hand to her temple. It wasn't necessary to radio someone, but some of the girls found that it helped to pretend they were wearing a headset. "Ooyodo, Mutsu, over."

"This is Ooyodo," she heard over the link. "What's the problem? Over."

"Ushio and her parents argued, and Ushio fled," Mutsu explained. "I am going out in pursuit. Please inform the Admiral. Over"

"Understood, out." The connection fizzled out, and Mutsu stepped towards the door, or the gaping hole in the door.

"Excuse me?"

She paused, turning to see the teenager standing at her shoulder. He stepped back hesitantly, and raised his hands in a fashion that was half "I surrender" and half "I come in peace." Mutsu gave him an irritated glare. She had enough on her plate as it was, what did this guy want now?

"Make it fast," she said curtly.

"Yeah, yeah, it's just… Ushio is Namiko? And you said you were going after her?" the boy said uncomfortably. Mutsu rolled her eyes. "Do you… know where to find her?"

"I have a general idea," Mutsu replied. "So?" He grinned in an awkward fashion, and Mutsu realized his request with a sinking feeling.

"Could I hitch a ride? I mean…" he gestured down to his legs. "I don't think I could match that kind of speed…"
-----

Saki and Umi were sitting side by side on the bed. Guilt, deep and dark, sat deep within Umi like a really, really bad piece of chicken eaten for lunch. Actually, no, it didn't sit in her like that—ARGH besides the point!

"So… how do we apologize to Namiko?" she asked dejectedly, hunched over her knees. Saki leaned back, running a hand through her hair. She hmmm-ed pensively, scratching at the back of her scalp.

"Well generally," she said, "you'd just go up to her and say that your sorry. Right now, though, we don't know where she is—or even if she'd listen to us if we tried. Are you sure you don't have any idea where she might be right now?" Umi shook her head.

"No," she confirmed. "I don't know where she might have gone. I've…" she sniffled. "I've kind of been screwing things up this whole time. Sorry." Saki groaned.

"You can stop apologizing now," she said. "If you don't know where she's gone, we'll just have to… wait." Saki sat up straighter, staring at Umi. "She ran off yesterday, and you went and found her with that one destroyer, didn't you?" Umi looked at her in askance for a second, before what she was saying actually clicked. She had done that! They had gone to get her! And Namiko had been…

"On the beach," she said excitedly. "She was on the beach!" Saki lifted her legs into the air, and all but threw herself to her feet.

"Well that's a starting point," she said. Umi gave her an odd look. Hadn't she wanted to make Namiko stand on her own? "What? Aren't we going now?"

"Yeah," Umi replied, fixing her with a puzzled gaze. "It's just… You're the one who wants to go to her now? Really?" Saki groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Take it from someone with four younger siblings," she said, hurrying through so fast that she might not even have noticed the sarcastic tone that her words took. "Leaving a hurt without an apology festers. The sooner we fix this, the faster and better it heals. Now let's go!"

"Right!" Galvanized into action, Umi scrambled to her own feet and charged the staircase, almost running into Yae as she did so.

"Gah! What the heck!" Yae shrieked, plastering herself to the side of the wall. She must have been getting something to drink from the kitchen, judging by the adorably frilly nightgown she was wearing and the sluggish look that she had had moments earlier.

"Sorry, explain later!" Saki said, following Umi. Wait a second, Yae…

"And sorry about dinner!" Umi called over her shoulder.
-----

If there was a more embarrassing way to be carried than being tucked under someone's arm and being hauled along like a bundle of laundry, then Ichiro never wanted to experience it come what may. It wasn't just embarrassing, either—Mutsu's arm was wrapped around his stomach, and even though they were going fast enough that tipping downwards wasn't necessarily an issue, it was one of the most stomach churning rides he had ever been on. When the battleship slowed to a stop and released her grip, he fell to his hands and knees and gagged, thankful that the ordeal was finally. Then he realized what it meant.

Turning to face the ocean, he saw black waters shining with the light of tiny pinpoint stars in a black sky. Under them, standing about shin-deep in the water was the shadow of a young girl. By the way Mutsu was looking out at her, Ichiro had very little doubt as to who she was. He eyed his transporter uncomfortably. Now that he was here, would she listen to what he was about to ask?

"So…" he said uncomfortably. "Do you think that you could give me a minute with her?" Mutsu gave him a suspicious side-eye, and he raised his palms in what he hoped would be interpreted as a placating gesture. "I'm not gonna try to talk her into anything, it's just… I think she's had a crazier day than I have."

Mutsu glared at him a second longer, trying to ascertain if he might have had some deeper motive. Finally, she turned to continue looking out at Namiko. "If things get out of hand," she said warningly, "I'll step in."

"Thanks," Ichiro replied. Shoving his hands into his pockets, and trying to put together what his next words would be, he stepped forward onto the sand. How could he talk to Namiko, when he didn't understand what she was going through? In their frenzy, their parents had failed to explain to him what was going on, and her little display back in that lobby had been his only introduction to the issue that was now haunting the family.

His feet touched the water, and he felt momentarily surprised that he had covered so much beach in such little time. Was that what being lost in thought felt like? Sitting deep in your own head, trying to manage your own brain, while the world simply danced by outside. He continued to step forward, feeling the seawater soak into his shoes and pants, walking until he stood next to Namiko. If she was aware of his presence, or even his existence, she did nothing to acknowledge it.

The silence continued a second, then another, then three more as Ichiro searched through his brain for a way to start speaking. How did he talk to her about this. How did...

"You know," he said, glancing down at his sister, "This past day was probably the most emotionally discombobulated road trip that I've ever been on. And until a little while ago, I had no idea what I was supposed to be discombobulated about." Namiko shivered once. Ichiro couldn't tell whether it was in reaction to his words or not, but he forged on as best he could. "So, the lady back there called you—"

"Ushio," Namiko replied, in a small voice. Ichiro had almost missed it, so intent had he been on putting words together into sentences, and she went on speaking in a voice that seemed to gain a tiny bit of strength as she went on. "I'm a Natural-Born. I was a ship, and then I was born as a little girl, and now…" Now that it had been explicitly confirmed by her own words, Ichiro couldn't help but feel slightly impressed.

"Huh," he said, trying his best to hide it, "and here I'd always thought you were a monkey." Glancing down again, he caught an irritated glare from her.

"Nii-san," she growled, and he caught himself shrugging before he knew it.

"A sea-monkey, then," he said, and then he had to set his jaw to stop himself from laughing out loud. It was just… the exchange was just so mundane, such an everyday tease between siblings in the face of everything bizarre that had happened over these past few days. Now that it had happened, Ichiro felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Natural-Born or not, this was still Namiko. He could talk to her the same as ever.

"Why do you always make fun of me?" Namiko groused, hunching up her shoulders. "This is serious, isn't it?"

"Well, that's the thing about serious stuff," Ichiro replied. "If you go into it all grouchy and stuff, you'll never finish it off happy. You'll just have a grouchy ending for a grouchy beginning."

"Is that so," she said thoughtfully, looking out over the waves. By the way she unhunched, Ichiro figured that his earlier slight had been forgiven.

"That's what I've found," he confirmed, trying to determine exactly which point she was looking out at. By the exchange they had shared, it sounded like Namiko was willing to listen to him. That was heartening. If she hadn't wanted to talk to him, Ichiro wasn't really sure what he would have done after that. But even then, they had gotten away from the matter at hand. And getting back to that… "So," he said with as much courage as he could muster, "what's being a Shipgirl like?" Namiko's gaze fell.

"It's… scary," she admitted. "I keep remembering things, or I'm able to do something impossible, and my friends get into fights because… I guess they don't know how to deal with it. And I feel like I'm being spun in circles, like a merry-go-round that's turning too fast. This…" she ground a hand into her forehead, and Ichiro thought he could see starlight glinting off of tears. "I feel like this should be something amazing and exciting, but I… All I feel is lost and confused." Ichiro felt the ghost of a smile dance over his lips. He couldn't understand what she was going through himself. But even then…

I can do this.

"And in that confusion," he said contemplatively, looking up at the sky searching for the moon. "In all of that emotion… You decided to fight?" She sniffed, lowering her hand to swipe it under her nose.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "I… I've got to. I can do so much more to help now…" she looked down at her hand, slowly closing it into a fist. "If I can protect people, then I have to fight." Ichiro released the breath that he had been holding (he had?) and raised a hand to the side of his head.

"Man," he chuckled. "You are seriously amazing right now." She looked up at him, face asking what he was saying. "I don't think I could do that. But you…" He turned to face her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Namiko, or Ushio or whatever you are come tomorrow… Right here, and right now? I am proud to call myself your brother." Namiko smiled hesitantly, before allowing her face to fall again.

"Mom and Dad sure didn't sound the same," she said sadly. Unease began to overtake Ichiro as well, how could it not after seeing the way their parents had reacted? But he held it back, and kept on, shakily as he might have.

"Mom and Dad are scared right now too," he tried his best to explain. "What with everything go on the way it is… I think the rug got pulled out from under all our feet. And now, trying to figure out what comes next… When you try to do that scared…"

"… You get a scared ending for a scared beginning?" Namiko finished, giving him a slightly hopeful look. Ichiro smiled.

"Not quite the way I would have said," he admitted, "But sure. Let's go with that. I think what we all need is to just take a step back, get all our thoughts in place, what we're trying to do. If you can do that, I think you'll be able to talk to them easier."

"You really think that, huh?" Namiko replied.

"Hey," Ichiro protested, "I'm older than you. Remember? I've got a lot more experience in these things."

"Not anymore," she teased. "I'm a World War II warship, remember? Way more experience."

"Time spent as a big piece of floaty metal doesn't count," Ichiro replied in a mock imperious tone. A familiar giggle rang through the air. It sounded like a church bell to him, ringing in triumph. "There it is," he said fondly, "there's a smile."

"HEY!"

He turned to look up the beach. Not so far into the distance, but far enough that he couldn't make out their features in the natural light, a girl was running towards them. The voice was familiar as well. Wasn't that Namiko's friend from school? She was out—wait a second, there was a second girl flagging behind her. What exactly was going on here. He turned to look at Namiko, who's expression had gone from smiling to one of worry. Wait—she had said something about friends arguing earlier. Was that part of what this was about?

The girl closed in, water splashing at her feet as she reached them. The second girl didn't quite manage it, tripping over her feet in exhaustion and flopping to the ground just out of the waves' reach.

"Nagawa-sa-sa-Nagawa-san!" the girl—Umi, that was her name!—gasped, trying to push herself up, hands on her knees. "I'm sorry—I mean, I apologize—I apologized to Yae, too, but I need to say sorry to you too, and Saki came to, she wants to say it too, and I… I… I'm…"

"Umi," Namiko's voice cut through, and Umi subsided, looking up at her. Ichiro leaned around to look at his sister's face. It was a tangle of emotions—relief, apology, and an increasing amount of a sort a satisfied tiredness. It took the form of a smile so tiny it might have been called a ghost.

"It's okay…" she said. "You… can wait until the morning. It… It's late now…" and then her eyes slipped closed, and she began to fold into the water like a piece of string that someone dropped and allowed to fall to the ground. She fell into Mutsu's arms—Ichiro looked back at where she had been standing earlier, when had she appeared? The battleship lifted Namiko gently, cradling her like an infant.

"She's alright, just tired," she said, heading off any alarm or complaint Ichiro or Umi could have had. "She's had a long, emotional day. We'd best get her to bed." She looked over at the other girl, who was probably Saki. "You should probably help her."

Ichiro blinked in surprise. "I should do that," he said, walking over to the schoolgirl and helping her to her feet—which was more like hoisting her to her feet and holding her in a standing position.

"… hate sand…" she mumbled, looking down at the substance that clung to her skin. Ichiro looked over at Umi to see if she needed any help, but the girl was still walking somehow. He looked over at Mutsu, and to his relief she wasn't giving him any more of the short-tempered looks. Instead, he was graced with a grateful smile.

"You know," she said, a hint of mischievousness in her voice, "that was a bit more than a minute." Ichiro shrugged as best he could.

"You were the one who let me keep going," he said, and as she laughed, he looked down at his sister.

Namiko was smiling. That was all that mattered.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Darkness enveloped the Summoning Chamber with no one around. The entire area was silent with only the sounds of the water in the pool sloshing around. Quiet, peaceful as a matter of fact. If one was there, they would find themselves relaxed by the calm atmosphere.

And then the doors slammed open as a drunk Naka staggered through. "Heeey~ Naga... Naja..."

Behind her, a similarly drunk Harder was laughing uproariously as she stumbled in. "Naka! You're Naka!"

Twisting around, Naka grinned as she pointed at her friend. "That's right! Naka-Chan, Idol of the Fleet, desu!" Eyes closed, she walked forward with a massive blush on her face. "And Naka-Chan wants to announce Harder the Winner!"

Confused, Harder looked around. "Eh? Winner? Of what?" When she turned back around though, she froze as Naka was just inches from her face. "A-ah..." Gulping a bit, Harder leaned back. 'T-too close!'

However, before things got too far, Naka blinked and pulled away as she looked around. "Uh... what are we doing here?"

With a frown, Harder tilted her head to the side. "I thought that you knew, Naka. After all, you were the one who dragged me here..."

Silence returned to the Summoning Chambers as Naka and Harder stared at each other. Inside Naka, a drunk fairy looked at the clock as seconds ticked by until he made his way to the bridge and found the Captain. By that point, more then a minute of silence had ticked by as Naka and Harder continued their staring contest with each other. Sipping his drink, the Non-Com looked out the bridge windows as a second minute ticked by before finally nodding. Moving behind the dozing Captain, he frowned and pulled back one leg. "DEEEE-SU!"

Outside, Naka jerked upwards with a smile. "Naka-Chan remembers now! We're going to try and summon something!"

At the same time, on her bridge the Captain was grumbling from his spot on the floor as he rubbed his behind. Behind him, the Non-Com drained the rest of his drink and stumbled off. To him, the hangover would be worth what he did.... if he remembered it.

Working together, it did not take Naka and Harder long to get some supplies scrounged up, with Naka frowning as she pulled up one of the steel bars with a frown. "Hmm... Hey, Harder, where did you get this from?"

Eyes shifting from side to side, Harder frowned as she swayed on her feet. "Uh... Found them, laying around. I think that they fell off a truck."

The Light Cruiser scratched her head in confusion before frowning. "Uh... We got trucks in the Summoning Pool?" After a few moments, she shook her head. "Eh, whatever. Anyways, I think that this is one of Harry-Chan's metal bars."

Harder furrowed her eyebrows some as she squinted some. "How do you know?"

In reply, Naka pointed at the bar. "See that lightning bolt? Akashi-San marked them to separate them from the others. These have maaagic~ in them from Harry-Chan!"

Blinking, the Submarine frowned some as she scratched her head. "Should we be using them then? I mean, I heard weird stuff happens."

After a few seconds, Naka threw her hands into the air. "Ahahahaha! Of course we can! Because Naka-Chan, Idol of the Fleet is here! What could go wrong!" Then she pulled out a microphone and brought it to her lips. "Now just watch in awe!"

With a deep breath, Naka began to sing and twirl around. As she watched, there was an awed look on Harder's face. 'Wow...' Then climbing to her feet, she started to drunkingly dance around with the Light Cruiser. Soon, both of them were singing, badly, as they laughed. So into it, they didn't even notice the materials vanish into glowing motes of light. Eventually though, their luck ran out and the two collided with Harder taking the worst of it. "Ow..."

Sitting up, Naka blinked as she stradled the Submarine's waist. "Harder-Chan? You okay?"

Just wincing, Harder nodded some as she looked up at her friend. "Yeah, I'mma okay." She then rubbed her chest a bit. "I think that your head hit me in the chest though and hurt my boobie... Heh, boobie."

Head tilted to the side, Naka considered Harder through hooded eyes. "Hmm... your boobies, huh?" Suddenly, the Submarine found Naka's hands slamming down on either side of her head as Naka grinned and brought her face close. "Heh... Want Naka-Chan to kiss it all better?"

It was just when Harder was about to say something that another voice spoke up. "Eeeeehhhh!? What the heck!?"

Turning, Harder and Naka blinked at the sight that met them. Seconds passed, before Naka laughed and pointed. "Lookie! You look like me! Naka-Chan, Idol of the Fleet!"

Sure enough, a girl who looked just like Naka was poking her head over the side of the Summoning Pool and staring in both confusion and disbelief at the sight in front of her. "B-but I'm Naka! You can't be me, right?!"

As the Light Cruiser considered this, Harder just laughed. "Oh, wow! Two Nakas! This is so awesome!"

Punching the air, Naka laughed as well. "Yeah! I'm so awesome I got two of me! Coool!"

Utterly lost, the shipgirl looked back and forth. 'E-eh? What is going on here! There's a me right over there!? And... a Submarine?! W-wait... Last thing I remember was an earthquake and fire and...'

Both Harder and Naka heard a squeak and turned to see the other Naka tumble back holding her head. Moving to the side, Harder looked down and shared a look with Naka. "You think that she's okay?"

All Naka did was shrug. "Yeah, probably."

When he was informed a little bit later, Goto groaned and pinched his nose. "For... how the hell does that happen? Drunk shipgirls... John probably doesn't deal with this sort of shit."
____________________________________________________________________________

Mutsu had a slight blush on her face as she cuddled into John, but her smile was easily in the megawatt range. "Do you think that we should have left the party when we did, John? I mean, it was just when Athabaskan brought out that drink of hers..."

Softly snorting, John shook his head. "I know exactly what drink she brought out, Mutsu. And let me tell you, I really do not want to deal with that for one night. Or it's aftermath." Smirking a bit, the American leaned forward. "Now, there is something that I would rather be dealing with."

Placing her arms around his neck, Mutsu smirked a bit. "Oh, I can think of a few things~"

Before they got too far though, the door slammed open and they both sighed as Jane's voice drifted in. "We're home, Daddy! Mutsu-Mama!"

Only sighing, Richardson nodded and turned to the door to the living room. "About time, Jane. Is everything cleaned up?"

Jane poked her head in and nodded with a bright smile on her face. "Yup! We got it all done, though..." She then looked at something to the side. "Ari-Mama started acting a little odd after some of that drink Cuz and you said not to drink."

His stomach sinking, the Admiral cleared his throat. "How... much did she drink, Jane?"

Moments later, he got his answer as a plastered Arizona stomped into view. For a brief second, both Mutsu and Richardson thought that they would be getting one of her prude looks. Especially considering their position on the couch. But then, to their horror, Arizona smirked a bit with a blush before scowling. "YOU TWO! I GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH BOTH RIGHT NOW!"

Sharing a look, Richardson and Mutsu moved before the Japanese Battleship stood up with a small groan. "Ari, that can wait until morning I think. Now, how about we all go to bed and-"

However, she did not get much further as Arizona stumbled in and pointed a finger at her. "Oh, no! I'mma gonna say my peace. What with what you two get up to in this house! And here it is..."

With a sigh, Richardson facepalmed and shook his head. "Oh no..."

Then she blew the expected prude rant out of the water as she growled. "Both of you! I must say that I am disappointed in you both! Do you know why?" At their headshakes, she snorted. "Simple... YOU'RE BOTH DOING IT WRONG!"

Silence met her before Jintsuu poked her head in with a disbelieving look on her face. "Uh... say what now?"

Crossing her arms under her chest, Arizona grinned. "Yes, both of you are doing it wrong. So it is up to me to explain things to you! Now then, to start off..."

As she continued to speak, Jane's eyes got wider and wider while her father flushed deeply. Though it was a toss up if it was from anger or sheer embarrassment. And then Arizona began to gesture with Jintsuu grabbing a frozen Jane. "Okay, we're going to be staying with the Destroyers! Have fun!"

Moments later, there was a door slamming and Arizona snorted. "Humph." Turning back, she looked at the mortified Mutsu before shaking her head. "Anyways, at that point you need to shift like this..."

Head in his hands, Richardson groaned softly. 'Oh God... Why does she do a one eighty when drunk...' Beside him, Mutsu twitched in some mortification at what she was hearing even as steam began to waft out of her ear.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 27: NotHimAgain

Well, I've had a bit of a day. Getting on a plane first thing in the morning, layover that me and my brother almost missed, getting all moved in back in the dorms, and then it turned out that the wi-fi in the dorms is down UFN. So I sat down and wrote out a snippet, then carried my laptop over to the big community building. I think it came out a bit poetic, and I'm not sure whether I should feel annoyed about it or not.

Now, when I wrote this, it was a number of scenes that I've had planned for a while now. And one thing that I've learned from this is that what I write never turns out quite the way I envisioned it. So when I sat down to write this snip, I told myself. "Alright, I can do this. I know what happens next, and I can write it out just fine. I then proceeded to shove my heart, stomach, liver, and small intestine in a paper shredder and had to spend several minutes reading an old fluff fic that I have saved to my hard drive. So without further ado:
Day Break

-----

Ooyodo looked over the civilian couple standing in front of her. The man, glasses and a suit that was slightly rumpled. The woman, who looked a complete wreck. It wasn't quite so obvious for the looking at her—her clothes and hair were clean and straight, her face carefully arranged in a neutral expression. When Ooyodo looked closer, though, she saw the bags under her eyes, concealed as carefully as possible with makeup, the red in her eyes that showed she had been crying, the general tenseness of her stance, making minute shifts in her weight. Her hands—which were trembling as if she was trying desperately not to clench her skirt in them—were probably the biggest tell.

Mutsu hadn't told her much about last night. By the time she had arrived back on base, she had come to the conclusion that this wasn't something that she had any right to talk to people outside of Ushio's family about. Ooyodo didn't fault her conclusion—some things, you just didn't discuss with people not directly connected to them. However, she found it infinitely frustrating that she didn't have the whole of the picture. She couldn't file this away neatly and orderly, because "everyone was scared and frustrated and a lot of the wrong things were said" left far too much for her to explain properly.

"Mr. and Mrs. Nagawa, am I correct?" she asked. They glanced at each other, uncertainly. Perhaps they thought she was a little young for her job? It had happened before, normal humans unaware that she was a Shipgirl asking what a girl her age was doing working a desk. The couple then turned their attention back to her.

"You are," the man—Mr. Nagawa—said, inclining his head respectfully. She returned the gesture.

"The Admiral will see you now," Ooyodo said. With precise, controlled steps, she turned and walked towards the door to the office. Knocking twice, firmly, she slid open the door, and looked directly at Admiral Goto. "They're here," she said, stepping aside to let the Nagawas in. As she did, she caught Ushio in the corner of her eye, sitting off to the side looking like a child who had been caught in her mischief and brought before the Principal. She shut the door as Goto introduced himself and stretched out a hand, returning to her own desk. Curiosity or not, time—and work—stopped for no one.
-----

Footsteps drifted through the sleepy haze, piercing her peaceful doze. Opening her eyes and squinting at the light, she bit back a yawn and tried to situate herself as best she could. It was the same table as the one she'd been strapped to two days ago. The same room. Twisting her neck and ignoring the pain it once again brought, she looked towards the curtained corner of the room as—

Her. It was her. It was Norihara, pushing aside the curtain, stepping forwards. She almost didn't register the battleship at her side in her excitement. Norihara was finally here. She could explain, make everything drop into order, repair the confusion that she had filled her with! Finally, this chapter that had opened with so much pain could be closed!

Norihara stepped up beside her, looking about her. The battleship, close behind her, produced a pair of metal folding chairs, sitting them down one next to each other. The fact that she chose the chair closer to her head was almost not lost on her, but she had focused her attention on Norihara. The human reached down, holding her skirt in place as she lowered herself into the chair. The moment she had done so, she looked her in the eyes with a gaze that was calm and friendly, along with an emotion or two she couldn't quite make sense of.

"So, Tanya?" Norihara said, leaning forward. "Is that your name, or should I call you…"

"If… you want… it… to be…" she said, trying to move things on to the point. Other Abyssals had taken names, indicators of who they were as individuals. She, the sum of her duties, had never seen any need for it. Briefly, pity flitted over Norihara's face. Pity? Why? She had something to call her, didn't she? What was to pity?

"Well, okay then," she said, before starting again. "So, Tanya. I understand that you had a question for me?"

Here it was. This was it, what Tanya had spent a whole day agonizing in her immobility for. Now she would be able to finally lay her confusion to rest. She had spent so much time considering her question. Now that she was here, she gathered all her wits, pulled on the word that perfectly explained what troubled her, and spoke.

"Why?" she asked, staring into Norihara's eyes so intently that she thought her eyes would begin to burn. Norihara blinked, face being written over with confusion.

"Why what, exactly?" she asked. Tanya felt every emotion, every defense that she had spent so much time ordering and preparing, blasted away to nothing.

"Why! That day! What you did! Tell me why!" she shrieked, tearing her arm free and thrusting it towards Norihara. She came up short, not even able to brush the woman's forehead. The battleship had been prepared for something like this. "Please! Have to know! Have to know!"

Norihara shut her eyes, leaning back in her seat. She sighed, crossing her arms and looking down into her lap. "Well, that's simple," she said, looking back up at Tanya. "I gave you a checkup to make sure you were healthy, and I did it because I'm a doctor."

Check-up? To make sure she was healthy? But she was… of course she was healthy! Anyone could have told that for looking at her. And why… She still didn't understand!

"But why?" she pleaded. She felt her eyes ache, something begin to tickle the bridge of her nose. Her throat felt like it would swell up and choke her to death, how painful it was. Norihara looked at her with pity again. The second, the pity, stretched on and on endlessly, filling the entire room with its void. Finally…

"Tanya," Norihara said slowly. "I am a doctor. I am trained to provide medical examination and aid, and it is my job—my duty—to do so. When I became a Doctor," Her words began to pick up, both in speed and strength, "I took an oath. That oath was to do no harm, not ever to anyone, and to help those who needed my help." Her gaze began to turn fierce, and Tanya fought the temptation to look away lest it burn her. "If I see an injured child, I will help that child. If I see an injured thief, I will help that thief. If I see an injured policeman, I will help that policeman. I saw you injured, and thus I helped you, to the best of my ability. Is it naïve to say that, am I being a childish fool? Possibly. But—" she slowed again, her eyes gentle once more. "to deny anyone my aid for any reason, to choose who benefits from my help? That is the cruelest, most morally wrong thing that I could ever do, and so I will not do that. You needed my help," she smiled, a look of caring and love that wrapped over her entire face, and then slowly her form, "and so I gave it. That's all there is to it."

… But that made no sense. It didn't make any sense. What was the reason? Where was the point? How did it work, how did the math play out? What was the point? What was the point? What…

Was there a point? Was there a reason? Or maybe…

There was no reason? She hadn't sought anything by her deeds? She had just… helped? Because she was there?

The room began to sway up and down, and she realized she was shaking her head, the tickle turning to an itch as her tears poured down and dripped into her other eye, joining with the wetness that welled up there. That… That couldn't be it. There was no way that could be it. People didn't just do things for reasons like that—Abyssals didn't, in any case—they calculated, and took risks that would see results, returns that they hoped for. To simply help someone, someone so opposed to your existence that they would almost certainly destroy themselves just to kill you… People like that couldn't exist! It made no sense! IT MADE NO SENSE!

She felt warmth on her hand, and she looked down to see Norihara's wrapped around it, as if trying to gently anchor her to the world. No! It could! She screamed, cried, sobbed, tearing herself from Norihara's grip, clutching her head and wailing. She felt the battleship grab her, try to hold her down to the table, didn't care.

And she felt warmth. Wrapping around her head, bringing her in close. Norihara, hunching awkwardly over her, hugging her in to the crook of her shoulder. "It's okay," the human said, almost whispered, so quiet that Tanya almost didn't hear it over her own groans, "I've got you. It's okay."

Tanya wept.

What else could she do?

-----

"Now, we've already gone over the different legalities with your daughter," the Admiral said to Mom and Dad, "Usually it's something we do with the parents and the daughter, but given the circumstances of her Awakening, I felt it was pertinent that she understood her options as soon as possible. Part of those circumstances is why I'm handling this in the first place, because she awakened herself already, but we're getting away from the point. Now usually, we try to make a point that a Natural-Born doesn't have to awaken if she doesn't want to, but that's not really an option here. If there's anything that you want to ask me first, feel free to—"

"Admiral?" Ushio asked, praying that he wouldn't be angry with her. "If I could… There's something that I want to—" She trailed off, feeling his eyes, her father's eyes, and especially her mother's eyes on her.

"Go ahead," the Admiral said, motioning to her. Ushio straightened her back and breathed in deeply. Released it. Breathed in again. Released it. Nodded, more to herself than anyone else. Breathed in one more time. And spoke.

"Mom? Dad? I'm sorry about what I did last night. Something… something upsetting had happened earlier, and when you started to ask things of me I lashed out at you. I shouldn't have done that." Ushio closed her eyes, breathed out. "But what you were asking of me was something that I couldn't do."

She opened her eyes again, looking between her parents. Her father's jaw was set, and her mother's face openly wore the kind of pain and sorrow that only a mother's could. Please, they seemed to beg, don't say it. And she almost didn't. She almost held her tongue.

But she couldn't.

Because this, more than anything else in her life, was something that she needed to say.

"I… I'm more than myself now. I'm strong… I'm fast… I have the power to go out and fight monsters that other people can't." She looked down at her hand. The hand that once had struggled to work a potato peeler, and now would probably crush it into scrap metal. Her fingers were beginning to tremble. "And that is what I have to do. I have power. If I can use it to protect people, to make sure that they can spend their nights safe and asleep, without something monstrous coming for them, then I have to do it. And if I were to just go home, and pretend that nothing had ever happened…" She looked forward, resolutely, trying her best to ignore the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "If I did that, I could never live with myself."

She stood, pushing herself with arms that were about to lose their strength onto legs that only kept it because they were locked into place. "I will never stop being your daughter," she said, "but I'm also Ushio, destroyer of the Japanese Navy. I have a duty, and I have to live up to it."

There was silence, a splendid, dreadful second that spread through the room, filling it from floor to roof with wonder and sorrow. Finally, her mother stood. She swayed in place briefly, fighting the tears that wanted to pour from her eyes. With feet that could barely keep themselves, she stepped towards Ushio. Finally, they lost all strength and she fell, arms wrapping around Ushio, and she wept. Her tears soaked her shirt, forgiving, pleading, blessing, mourning, cursing, accepting all at once. Ushio couldn't fight her own tears anymore, and she wept herself, for what seemed like the one hundredth time in those three short days which had torn her world out from under her and put it back together so haphazardly that she couldn't recognize it anymore. Through the tears, she saw a blur—her father—drop his head into his hands, his shoulders shaking. And she saw the other—the Admiral—wait patiently, not interfering in something that—to him, maybe—seemed so sacred.
-----

At last, Tanya's tears abated. Yumeno stood there still, holding her to her chest as carefully and as gently as she could. The Abyssal was still choking on air, sobbing without any more tears to cry. Her arms wrapped around Yumeno, only to fall back to her sides. She stroked her hair, waiting until she breathed normally, then lowering her back to the table. Tanya whimpered in protest as she was released, and Yumeno carefully brushed the bangs that had become disarrayed and fallen into her face as she cried aside.

"Do you feel better?" she asked. It had been terrifying for a moment, Tanya thrashing about and howling as Kongou tried to hold her down, to stop her from hurting someone or worse herself. But the moment Yumeno had worried about Tanya tearing something open and making herself worse, she remembered what she had realized two days ago. She was her patient, her cries weren't insanity and rage, but grief and confusion, and Yumeno found herself responding the way she had that day, when a boy realized that all his dreams, everything that he had going for him, had been torn away from him by a semi-truck and a broken mirror.

Tanya looked at her mournfully. Once, Yumeno had seen her as alien, one of the monsters that haunted her people in dreams and in life. Now, she just seemed broken and small, so, so small, like a baby songbird who had fallen from her nest and broken her wing, never to fly. She pressed her eyes shut, as if trying to squeeze another solitary tear out, and raised a hand to her forehead, running it with a ghostly touch over her bangs. Slowly, slowly, her eyes opened again. Now, she stared at Yumeno with eyes sorrowing and pleading and wondering.

"Could you… please… again?" she asked slowly, as if going any faster would tear her apart. And Yumeno complied. Kongou looked at the two and sighed.

"This had better not take up my morning," she groused. But she was smiling, in spite of herself.

-----

Nagawa Sasami stood in the corner of the parking lot, staring down at her feet. It seemed like so much had ended, or begun, or maybe even continued. She couldn't tell what it was, right now. Her heart, so recently torn out of her chest, had been returned her and stripped away with the selfsame motion.

The Admiral had said that processing paperwork and making preparations would take a few days, and Namiko would be returning home for those days, but in the end, it changed nothing that Sasami could see. In the end, the result was the same: her daughter would leave her and fight, put her life on the line time and again, and she would spend her days either proud of her daughter for standing so solidly by what was right or dreading the phone call that would reveal a loss so much deeper than she could ever live with.

Was it her, she asked and feared, had she driven her daughter to this somehow with her frantic declarations and demands. And yet something deeper, something that she so desperately wished wasn't part of her and couldn't live without accepting, admitted what was true: Her daughter, her Namiko, had chosen this for herself. She would have chosen it, either after agonizing and questioning herself, or in an instant, not once asking anything. It was something she had no right not to be proud of, and something that crushed her hopes. What a fantastic duality.

"Hey, ma'am? Are you alright?"

Opening her eyes, Sasami looked down into an intelligent, questioning pair on a girl arrayed in an old seifuku, with an unruly mop of brown hair. Collecting and dragging herself from the internal ravine that seemed determined to swallow her, she pressed a hand to her breast to quiet her heart and respond.

"You know," she said, smiling a shaky smile, as best she was able. "I honestly can't tell anymore." The girl's eyes became downcast, and they swept down to her own feet.

"Yeah," she said, curling her lip, "I guess I know that feeling."

"I don't think so," Sasami replied, shaking her head. "I think you'd have to be a mother to understand this one." The girl gave her an almost petulant look.

"I can try," she said determinedly. Sasami felt an errant chuckle rattle her body, and she decided to humor the girl.

"Well," she said. "imagine. Imagine that you have someone dear to you, someone that you would move heaven and earth for—that you would say it, and then you would go out and do it, because that is what they needed. Now imagine that…" her breath caught, but she forged on. "Imagine that that person, who you would do so much for, is separated from you. And however much you want to be by her side, you can't. Because moving heaven and earth…" she looked down at her hands. The scar that had been opened so many years ago, when she tried to stop a fruit bowl from falling and hitting Namiko's head. The hands that had held her and comforted her when she had run to her at night, during a thunderstorm. Hands that were now so much weaker than hers, that couldn't protect her anymore. "Moving heaven and earth… can no longer do anything for her." She closed her eyes, hung her head again.

"I do know that feeling." Sasami opened her eyes and glared balefully at the girl, but she forged on.

"See, there were only four of us so far, and one of us is off in Kure. And we… we wanted to see our sisters again. We want it so badly that we pray day in and day out, we make wishes at Tanabata… Amagiri even tried to send a letter to Santa-san… We've tried to sneak in to the summoning ceremonies and watch, because then maybe they'll come too us… But they never do. And then…" She clenched her hands and Sasami watched tears gather, dropping down to wet the girl's shoes. "And then finally, one of them came to us. And she… they won't let us go to her. Because they tell us that she's scared, and she's hurting, and going to her will only hurt her more. And-And I need to go to her, I need to be able to reach out and hold her, and help make everything okay, but I can't, because that'll hurt her. I can't hurt her! I don't want to hurt her! And helping her would hurt her! But I… I have to…" she trailed off, letting the tears stream down her face.

"… Like looking in a funhouse mirror," Sasami replied, smiling mournfully down at the girl. She looked up at her, face wet and dirtied with crying, eyes red from tears. "My name is Nagawa Sasami," she said, offering her hand. The girl looked at it, before reaching out and gingerly taking it.

"Hi, Nagawa-san. I'm Oboro."
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

smthng

rdmcmains said:
Given that Haruna, who is no sort of idol at all, had fans who got extremely upset about her dating Rose?​

Well, of course she's going to have idiot fans, but perhaps her general fanbase is somewhat... less socially awkward than that of an archetypal idol. Though given how she's not part of the idol industry as such and does stuff like livestreams games, and is a ship girl, I guess it's more likely than not. Though...

Naka: Harder, lemme tell you something: whatever you do, don't go cruising for real-person fiction involving me, okay? Especially not the ones that also involve you. Those aren't pretty at all.

(a few hours later)

Harder: Naka!! Why the hell did you bait me into this!!??

Harry Leferts said:
Actually, it started far earlier then that in the aftermath of the Russo-Japanese War. It came to a huge cost to Japan in both money and lives when they actually won it. By the rules of normal warfare, what Japan wanted was pretty much normal and far less then what some might have done. America was the one in charge of determining what Japan would get... and pretty much gave them very little because they were not European or white. Needless to say, that did not go down well for the Japanese. Ironically, she might get along with Harry pretty well as Britain was allied with Japan and looked at as a close friend until fairly recently.​

-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Naka jr looked at the two ship girls before her. "So, let me get this straight," she said, pointing a finger at Naka. "You're the Naka that was built after I was wrecked by an earthquake?"

Naka let out a wide grin and struck a sloppy pose. "Hai hai, Idol of the fleet Naka-chan's here!"

Naka jr stared at the other Japanese girl. "You're an object of religious worship?" she asked in incredulous voice. For a fraction of a second both Harder and Naka just boggled at the new-born ship girl, before they burst out in huge bouts of uncontrolled, drunken laughter.

Naka jr felt her headache start to re-emerge as she watched her two seniors howl drunkenly. Honestly she was extremely confused. She was in an unfamiliar place, in an unfamiliar body, and facing somebody who she somehow knew to be very close to herself. And what was clearly a foreign submarine. British or American, if she had to guess. But for all she knew, the other girl could just as well be German or Dutch.

And to make things worse, she didn't really have any way to be sure of practically anything. She had never seen anything except the construction slip where she had been under construction, and the shock of suddenly wearing human body was something that probably hadn't settled yet. But she was a ship, even if never actually really finished, of the Imperial Japanese Navy, so she would preserve. Especially now when the only one she could ask to assist her clearly was not up to the task, she could either maintain her composure or descend into a trembling wreck. And at the moment Naka jr absolutely refused to fall apart again, so she bit the inside of her lip and waited. It was difficult given how shaken she was at the moment, but she could make it.

When the two ship girls started to calm down from her hysterics, Naka jr coughed to gain their attention. "Naka-san, who might your companion be?"

The other girl gave Naka jr a drunken wave. "I'm USS Harder, essess two-five-seven. Nice to meetcha, Naka-chan."

Naka jr nodded; an American ship then. Thankfully, despite her drunkenness, the gaijin's Japanese was more than understandable, if very informal. "Likewise, Harder-san," she nodded at the submarine before focusing back to her... other self. "Does the fact that she's here with you mean that Americans eventually started giving us the respect we deserve?"

As the aura of drunken mirth that had pervaded room so far suddenly evaporated, Naka jr could not help but wonder if she asked the wrong thing.


(Continuation): smthng

Mannfred Von Carstein said:
You know, I was half-expecting Naka senior and Harder to burst out laughing again, considering their drunkenness, then fall into a tense silence.​

A few moments later the awkward silence was broken when Harder chuckled and threw her arm over Naka's shoulders. "Of course we have mad respect for each other! You've all done shitload of work to keep Western Pacific alive, right!?"

Naka blinked. And then a grin split her face, as she enthusiastically nodded back. "And the operations you've done at Midway and Hawaii and East Pacific are pure metal! Nothing but respect between us!"

Naka frowned at the two rip-roaring drunk shipgirls as they again burst out laughing.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Having gotten away from the Twins and their antics, Percy sighed as he sat on a window sill overlooking the grounds. Down below, he could see the Twins slowly making their way amoung the snowdrifts as they inched closer and closer to where one of the pirate shipgirls. 'Or is that privateer shipgirls now?' Shaking off the minor thought, Percy continued to frown as he tried to figure out what was going on with his younger sister. Especially with how she went out of her way to avoid her siblings. 'Not that I can blame her with the Twins.'

With a grimace, he scowled a bit at the ground far below. Ginny had not looked well lately, like she was always a bit tired. The rings around her eyes were rather telling along with how she was sometimes seen getting naps. It did not help matters that sometimes she was just staring off into the distance as if in an entirely different world. Percy did not like it.

Not in the slightest.

But no matter what, she wouldn't talk to them. And when confronted, she was more likely to clam up tight and then run off first chance she had. So now all they could really do was watch. Something that really got under Percy's skin to say the least. All of which is what found him currently in the window sill watching was the twins prepared to pull a prank. Heck, Percy, deep in thought, watched as they crept closer with a bulge in the snow making it's way towards them. "Wait, what?"

Sitting up straighter, he frowned and then narrowed his eyes as it looked like something was burrowing unde the snow and heading for his brothers. Now, he may not get along with them, but they were still family. Percy was already unlatching the window with a spell on his lips when a Re-class' tail popped up from the bulge. It slowly rotated first in one direction and then another. Each arc got smaller and smaller until it was pointed right at the Twins and jerked before being pulled back under the snow. Lips twitching, Percy smirked a bit as he leaned closer. "Well now, I suppose a nice show would be nice."

A voice speaking up just beside him made him jump a bit. "Show? What show?"

Quickly, Percy turned to find Ooyodo and Supprin both there watching him and froze. Ooyodo stood there in a red dress trimmed in white fur which, somehow, showed more leg then normal for her. At the same time, Supprin was in a similar white one with fur as well. However, then he noticed a rather familiar smell and could spot the blushes on their cheeks which made him narrow his eyes slightly. 'Are they drunk?' Raising an eyebrow, he cleared his throat a bit and gave them both a smile. "Ooyodo, Suprin, I was not expecting either of you today."

In reply, Ooyodo gave him a small smile and adjusted her glasses. "Ah, I... I mean, we, had been planning for a while to come and spend some time with you, Percy. Today, that is."

Behind her, Supprin nodded some. "Yes, the two of us wanted to spend some time with you today. And we had contacted Dumbledore through Harry's owl box for a portkey here. Since the party back at the base is already finished though..."

Slowly, Percy nodded with a thoughtful look before he smiled. "Well, I would not exactly say no to spending some time with either of you. I must admit, I enjoyed last year with how much fun we had speaking on various subjects..." A moment later, he tilted his head a bit. "Though I must ask, have you been drinking?"

Opening her mouth, Ooyodo was about to deny it before she closed it and sheepishly smiled. "Perhaps a little, I suppose. But it was at the party, so..." With Percy's nod, she frowned and got up higher on her tiptoes to try and see what he had been looking at. "So about this show you were talking about?"

Percy's lips twitched a bit as he shook his head. "It seems that my twin brothers have something of a... familiar being stalking them through the snow. And neither have noticed as they are trying to prank a sailshipgirl currently on guard here at Hogwarts."

Head tilted to the side, Ooyodo gave an amused look to Supprin who sighed and shook her head. "Should have expected that was where Revina had gone when we arrived." Then she frowned a bit. "Though I do wonder about how she just seemed to vanish like that."

Tone dry, Percy shook his head. "Perhaps that is one thing that we are better off not knowing." Glancing around, he then patted the windowsill he was on with a small smile. "Well, hop on up I suppose. We can watch what is going to happen and then I'll give you a bit of a tour."

Both Ooyodo and Supprin looked from him to the windowsill with looked somewhat uncomfortable and too small for them. Then a smirking Percy first waved his wand and the windowsill expanded enough for both of them to sit there before he performed a gesture. Next thing they knew, there were squishy cushions there which made Ooyodo chuckle. "I suppose that magic can be quite useful." Poking one, she hummed to herself. "How long do these last?"

Scratching his chin in thought, Percy hummed a bit before answering. "These might last an hour or two. I'm good with conjuration, but I can't make anything last much longer then that."

With a slow nod, Ooyodo climbed up onto the expanded windowsill as Percy helped her with a thoughtful look on her face. Much to Percy's suprise though, she placed herself in his lap with a smirk before looking out the window to where she could see the grounds. It only took her a moment to spot Revina. "Conjuration... The magic used to create things from nothing, correct?"

Even though he was blushing due to the shipgirl in his lap, Percy took Supprin's hand and helped her up. "That's correct, though putting it rather simple. It's quite a bit more complicated then just waving one's wand around to get something after all."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Supprin settled into place, though she frowned down at her gauntlets which took up a rather large amount of room. Briefly, she chewed her lip before tilting her head. "Percy? Ooyodo, would either of you mind if I took of my gloves..." Both shook their heads and the Abyssal took a deep breath before reaching for her wrist. There was a click and slowly, she slid off one massive glove. Then she did so with the opposite hand before deposting them to the side. At their looks, she glanced away with a small blush dusting her cheeks. "Um... I know that they may not be the best..."

Just blinking, Percy shrugged. "I really don't see much issue with them myself." As Ooyodo agreed with him outloud, the red haired wizard turned his attention back to said hand which looked like a skeleton's. Instead of bone though, it was made of black, Abyssal style metal. Before Supprin could say much, Percy gently took one of them in his hand and rubbed a thumb along them. Seeing her freeze, he frowned a bit. "I'm not hurting you or anything, am I?"

Slowly, Supprin shook her head with a gulp. "N-no, you're not. They're just a little sensitive, which is why I wear my gauntlets. They're also somewhat more fragile then the hands of other Abyssals."

Giving he a slight nod, Percy smiled a bit. "No worries, I'll do my very best not to harm them." His own hand covering hers, he shook his head some. 'Rather more dainty then I expected.'

Meanwhile, a different thought was going through Supprin's mind as she stared down at said hand. 'Warm... His hands are so warm and gentle.' Despite no skin, she could feel the calouses on Percy's hands and fingers, products of lots of work with quills and the like. 'And yet rough. I like them.'

Unnoticed by either of them, there was a knowing look on Ooyodo's face before she frowned a bit. 'I wonder if the alcohol is making us a bit more relaxed then normal...' Filing that thought away for later, she reached over with one of her hands and took Supprin's other hand before following Percy's actions. "They are pretty lovely hands."

If anything, that caused Supprin to blush before she shifted some so that she was pressed more against Percy. Her own fingers and thumbs rubbed against her companions before she smiled. "Thank you." Then she snickered a bit and looked out the window. "I think that Revina is about to make her move."

Blinking, both Ooyodo and Percy turned to look and raised their eyebrows as they spotted the fake shark fin moving through the snow. Through the window though came music which made Ooyodo sigh even as she noticed the Twins looking around in confusion. "Oh for... Because of course she would use that music."

Confused, Percy cleared his throat and looked between them. "You recognize it?"

Only nodding, Ooyodo sighed as she felt the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. "As a matter of fact, I do. It's from a horror movie about a shark that some of us older shipgirls watched once."

Moments later, the urge disappeared as Percy grasped her free hand and rubbed it with his. Humming, Percy then chuckled a bit. "Perhaps you'll show it to me then one of these days"

After a moment, Ooyodo nodded as she snuggled more into him. "Perhaps I will."

The three of them continued to watch and smirked as, just after the fin "Submerged", Revina leapt out from beneath the Twins before dragging them under the snow, screaming. Seconds later, the two red heads burst out from the snow and began to run across the grounds towards the nearest entrance to the school with Revina right behind them cackling madly.

However, neither of them noticed Ginny at a nearby corner looking at them in shock and some surprise. Nor did they notice her eyes flash into a cruel and calculating look before they returned to their normal state as the girl blinked in confusion.
_____________________________________________________________________

Just as she opened her eyes, Nagato closed them with a hiss as what felt lances were shot through her eyes. Keeping her eyes closed for a moment, she grimaced as she took in how the rest of her body felt, which was not helped by how she swore that her head felt like she went several rounds a Battleship Oni in a boxing match. Slowly, Nagato sat up and felt her fuel tanks roil and churn while her mouth was dryier then the Antarctic desert. 'Ugh... what in the name of the Kami did I drink last night...?'

Shaking her head, Nagato groaned as that was the wrong action to take. Eventually though, she stumbled to her feet while ignoring how her crew felt like she did, with more then one feeling more ill as she moved. Reaching the door, she opened it and was hit with the smells of breakfast. A greasy one at that which made her boilers growl even as the fuel in her tanks churned even more. Turning from where he was cooking up bacon, Harry gave her a soft smile before speaking in a soft voice, that nonetheless made Nagato wince. "Morning, Mum."

With a deep breath, Nagato gave him the best smile she could which turned out into an odd hybrid with a grimace. "Good morning, Harry. Is anyone in the bathroom?" Harry shook his head and she made her way over. "That's good, I'll be right back."

In return, Harry only shook his head and went back to cooking as Natsumi helped him best that she could. As the two of them worked, Harry's mind went back to that morning when he woke up with Natsumi snuggled into his chest and Regina snuggled into his other side with her arms covering them both along with her tail. Almost protectively, which made Harry feel rather safe. But what was on his mind was the rather odd feelings he had while they laid there. Crossing to the now finished coffee, Harry poured some of the black sludge out into a "#1 Battlemom" mug. Then he added a pinch of salt an a dash of oil as he shook off his previous thoughts. As Harry placed it, and a plate of breakfast at Nagato's spot at the table, he gave a nod to Wanko who was walking out of Hoppou's room. "Good morning, Big Sister."

Blinking, Wanko gave him a small smile and a tilt of the head. "Good morning... Little Brother."

Harry returned said smile and nodded some. "Don't worry, Big Sister, I'll have your breakfast done soon." Getting a nod, he turned back to the stove while Natsumi put some more toast into the toaster. However, Harry did spot Wanko look towards the bathroom door and chuckled a bit. "Mum's back to normal if you're wondering. She just had a bit too much alcohol at the party, so try and keep it down."

For a moment, Wanko considered that and then nodded. She did not quite understand what was with humans, and apparently shipgirls, in regards to alcohol. It never did much for her, though some of her fleet did act odd once when they came back from Darwin. According to the Ru that was in the lead, they had gone to a bar there. Though why some of them were blushing was beyond her. Another oddity was how those same ones often went back.

But as long as the humans did not complain, she saw no real reason to stop it. In fact, it seemed like it amused them for reasons beyond her.

Shaking off those thoughts, Wanko went back to observing Harry. He may not have realized, but to her he was as much her brother as Hoppou was her sister. A glance at Regina watching Harry made her nod some as she considered some plans just in case things became much more dangerous. If something happened this year, Wanko was going to be taking some actions. 'She should like... it, I think.'

Not knowing what was going on in Wanko's mind, Harry continued cooking breakfast even as Wokyuu and Hoppou came out of her room, the two of them being the last members of the household as Rose had stayed with Haruna overnight. Said WO class greeted Harry quietly before turning to have a staring contest with Hedwig. When Harry placed a plate with several pieces of bacon on it. At her look, he smiled. "Hedwig likes her bacon."

Eyes lighting up, Wokyuu smiled back at him and nodded. "Wokyuu! Wokyuu!'

With that, she took a piece and held it up to Hedwig before her smiling brightly as the owl took it. Glancing at that sight, Natsumi shook her head and then turned to watch Harry as he moved about. Part of her was a bit jealous of how good he was in the kitchen, but that was always squashed by the rest. After all, he had worked and worked hard for such and she couldn't fault him for that. Not to mention there was something oddly relaxing and nice about watching him work. Granted, she helped out where she could and Harry swore that her omelets as well as her tofu dishes were some of the best that he ever had.

A fact that still made the kitsune blush.

Eventually though, a still ill looking Nagato stumbled out of the bathroom and sat down at the table. She was looking over breakfast while deciding to eat or not when Hoppu tapped her arm. "Hmm? Yes, Hoppou?"

Looking up at her adopted mother with orange eyes, Hoppou fidgeted a little bit. "Hoppou... Hoppou wants to know if Mommy is feeling better. Because Mommy was acting wierd last night."

Nagato thought back to the night before and held back a wince. 'Was I really hugging Wanko and calling her a fountain of moe? And all those cutesy names...' Barely sighing, Nagato internally grimaced. It was not often that "Nagamon" came out nowadays thinks to her hamster, Harry, and Hoppou being around to smother in affection. But when she did... "I'm okay, Hoppou. Don't worry."

When she heard a chuckle come from Harry, she blinked some as he pointed to a spot by her plate. "There's some hangover potion there for you, Mum. Just drink it and it should make you feel better."

Slowly, Nagato picked up the vial there which contained what looked like the upitome of unappitizing sludge and grimaced. "This will help?" At Harry's nod, she took a deep breath and uncorked it before wincing at the smell. The Battleship then pinched her nose and closed her eyes before downing it in one swallow. However, the taste still hit her and she found herself grimacing and eyes watering. 'Ugh... That is worse then the time Hiei made spaghetti...'
From where he stood, Harry gave her a pitying look. "Sorry, Mum. But it's supposed to taste and smell bad... The book said it's supposed to make one think twice before getting that drunk again."

Relaxing some as almost all her hangover symptoms vanished as if hours had passed, Nagato chuckled. "Maybe. But it still worked just the same." As she dug into her breakfast, she hummed a bit. "Though I did not know you knew how to make such a thing."

The black haired boy only shrugged some as he passed a happy Regina a plate, the Re-class quietly thanking him. "After hearing how, um, my birth Mum was good with potions I should try working on some myself. Professor Snape pointed me at what he called common household potions not taught in class... While also stating that there is a small business in that one at Hogwarts."

Just frowning in thought, Nagato slowly nodded. "I can see how in all honesty." Suddenly, she smirked a bit. "But try not to give them out for a few hours."

Eyebrows raising in confusion, Harry shrugged some. "Sure, I guess? But why?"

If anything, Nagato's smirk grew a bit. "Because I remember last night. And I, personally, want to see the reactions of several people when they realize that I don't have a hangover."

Several moments passed before there were snickers from various people.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

And once again, the time has come. Sort of. I'm not completely sure about the ending on this one, but you've got to jump in and get wet all over all at once.
That Day

-----

"So, Tanya," Norihara asked, leaning forward in her seat. "What do you like to eat?" Tanya looked up at her slightly puzzled, as if the question was incomprehensible. To her, Kongou thought, it might seem absurd, but that was because Tanya had known the answer pretty much her entire life.

"Food," the Abyssal said, cocking her head towards Kongou, "Same as her." Back in the wings, Kongou could hear someone scrambling to put pen to paper and record what Tanya was saying. It was a good thing too, because Kongou hadn't thought that she would need to bring any. After their hug session, Norihara had asked if Tanya could answer some questions that she had about her. The questions she had were mainly about basic Abyssal biology and life, the sorts of things that a doctor would want to know in order to care for an Abyssal patient. And for the navy, it was an explanation of mysteries that they had wondered at for years now.

Finally, Norihara folded her questions in her lap. "Alright, Tanya," she said, "there's only one more thing that I want to ask you. It's a bit of an odd one, and… You don't have to answer if you don't want to." She furrowed her brow, looking down worriedly at her lap. "I was just wondering… Why did you attack? Why is it that you destroy so much?" Her voice was slightly mournful, and Kongou glanced over at Tanya. The Abyssal's face appeared slightly stricken, as if she had just realized that she had done something to hurt someone she loved. She looked away—guiltily? What was going on with this girl?

"Princess said to," she said, and Kongou's head snapped around she nearly got whiplash. This was something that she had been hoping to hear about. "Princess says destroy. I destroy. It's duty. I have duty… had duty. Now I can't." Tanya touched a hand to her thigh, stroking her skin gingerly. "Can't feel legs. Can't move them. Can't fight, not anymore. No more duty."

Kongou felt herself droop, only a little bit but still. That hadn't really answered anything. All it had told her was that Tanya was a good little girl who did what she was told when she was told to do it. Norihara's face was one of sympathy, but Kongou was beginning to suspect that the woman would have sympathized with a rabid macaque trying to eat her brains out.

"I see," she said, standing and smoothing her skirt. "Thank you, Tanya. That was very informative. Maybe now they'll be able to make you a little more comfortable." She shot a glance over at Kongou who shrugged neutrally. There was a fair chance that they would do so, but Kongou didn't think that she would be part of making that decision. Behind the curtain, she could hear feet scrambling away, looking to file and categorize.

"No. Thank you. I… understand, I think. Can't explain. Can't put pieces together. But can connect. Sort of." Tanya replied. Norihara turned, and began to walk towards the door. "Wait!" and stopped, turning to look back at Tanya. The Abyssal looked like her parents were leaving her at a neighbor's house while they went on a business trip. "Come back?" she asked hopefully. Norihara smiled.

"If they bring me back," she said gently.

-----

When Ushio stepped through the door, she was greeted by a man and two children.

"Who are you?" she asked, looking between them. The man rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and flashed her an apologetic smile.

"The name's Nijima," he said, "I'm your teacher's husband. The station's out, so I figured I'd offer you girls a ride home. That okay?" It took a moment to purse his Kansai dialect, but a ride home? He had to own some kind of monstrously large van for that. "Don't worry," he confirmed before she could speak, "We have a… large van. It's a bit of a crazy story."

"Always is with you," she heard a familiar voice laugh from the table. Craning her neck around, she saw Tenryuu sitting there in front of Saki and Umi. Saki was leaning back in her seat, a look of resignation in her eyes, but Umi… Umi sat with her head hung. Everything in the way she sat with her hands pressed down into her lap, arms rigid, bespoke guilt and disappointment in herself.

"Ah, well actually," she said, and realized that there was a familiar feeling welling up in her gut, an old nervousness that had nearly been chased away by the madness of the previous day. "I… I'll be driving back with my… My parents came to get me… if that's all right…"

"It's fine," Mr. Nijima said reassuringly. "I get what you're saying. Everything'll be fine…" he trailed off, looking up at the ceiling. "'Cept for my wife, maybe…"

"Don't worry about it," Tenryuu said, pushing out her seat and standing. "I'll talk to the school people, put in a good word." Ushio blinked, confused. Was she allowed to do something like that? "This whole thing was half my idea anyhow, I owe it to her."

"Are you sure she'd want you to?" Mr. Nijima said.

"Like I said," Tenryuu replied. "I owe her this." She paused. "Oh right… I was rooting through my closet the other day, and I found that picture. You know, the one of you with the girls? Was wondering if you and Saeko-chan wanted a copy." Mr. Nijima smiled again, he seemed to do that very easily.

"We'd love that," he agreed, nodding. As what sounded like two old schoolmates began talking, Ushio skirted around them as best she could and walked over to her friends.

"Hoshikawa-san?" she asked, taking the seat that Tenryuu had left out. Umi didn't even look up, she continued hanging her head and looking as mournful as a funeral.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I… I wanted to protect you, but I… just…" Saki pulled herself up straight.

"We're both sorry," she added. "Yesterday, we… We argued about what was best for you. And because of that, we ended up hurting you. So, we're sorry." Ushio's lips turned upward slightly. The weight on her soul that had begun to flutter when she had woken from her faint that morning, floated off into nothingness.

"It's okay," she said, extending her arm across the table. She couldn't quite reach either of them, but Umi looked up, and reached out to take it. "There's nothing we can do about the past, so… let's leave that behind."

"Are you going to stay here?" Umi asked dreadfully. Ushio looked down at her hand, then up at her face.

"Not yet," she replied. "There's been a lot of stuff going on here, not just rebuilding from the attack, so they'll need a little while to get everything set up. I'll be going home for the next few days, but… when that's over, I'll come back here."

"Oh," Umi said in a tiny voice. Saki raised her hand, and placed in on top of their joined ones. The three sat there in silence, the conversation between Mr. Nijima and Tenryuu the sole noise on that bottom floor until someone knocked at the door. Ushio heard the door creak open, and Tenryuu's surprised exclamation.

"Oboro? What are you doing here?"

Ushio felt an icy hand clench around her heart even as it leapt for joy. She raised her hand to look at the door, knowing what she would find there—almost.

She saw the destroyer who she knew, she knew, standing nervously in the doorway. Behind her, she saw her mother looking in at her, past Mr. Nijima, to meet her eyes. Ushio turned to look at Saki and Umi, take in their worried and encouraging gazes, and sighed.

Breath in… Set your course… Step forward…

She removed her hand from theirs and stood, turning towards the door. As she stepped forward, the girl that her entire body screamed was her sister did the same, walking on eggshells as she slipped her shoes off and stepped up from the engawa. And in seconds, they were standing close enough to touch each other, looking in each other's eyes. Oboro's gaze was fearful, praying, and loving—so, so loving. And suddenly, Ushio found it easier to smile.

"Hello, Oboro," she said, bowing. "My name is Nagawa Namiko. It's nice to meet you." Oboro's shoulders slumped slightly, a mixture of relief and sorrow. "But... but you can call me Ushio. If you want to." And slowly, as it clicked together, Oboro's face turned to one of joy.

-----

"Thank God that's all over," Mutsu said, slumped over at her usual place at the bar. Houshou said nothing, simply turning to the tap and pouring her the usual beer.

It was evening now, hours since the schoolgirls had been driven away and Ushio had returned home for the precious few days she had before her new life began in earnest. She had stopped by Houshou's before leaving with her older brother in tow, a high schooler who was only about half so awkward as she was. Houshou, having heard from Mutsu about his comforting his sister, treated him with a little more respect than usual, which had left him flustered.

"You're going to volunteer to go and pick Ushio up, aren't you?" she asked Mutsu casually, placing her drink in front of her. "You got pretty involved in her case, after all."

"Yeah, but that's not what I'm talking about," Mutsu insisted, accepting her cup. "I'm just glad that things are more or less back to normal." At Houshou's raised eyebrow, she corrected herself. "Relatively normal, I mean. You know, for ships resurrected in human form." She raised her drink to her lips. "It's been a crazy few days, but Ushio's alright and Tanya's talking to us, and I'm glad the madness is more or less over."

Then her phone rang. Mutsu pulled it out, examining the caller ID, and set her drink down. "Nagato? Why are you calling by cell? Is something—Something is wrong?" Houshou watched half a conversation with interest. "What happened? Affects me more personally? What's that supposed to mean? Are you gonna have to come home early, or stay longer, or—Harry? Who the hell is Harry? Did—"

Whatever Nagato said next, Mutsu's face went completely blank. "Ah." She said in a voice that was clipped and awkward, trying desperately to put together a response to whatever it was that had just happened. "Okay then. I guess… Alright then, later. Explain later, right. Talk to you then."

She ended the call and slowly lowered her phone down to the counter. She looked down stupidly into her beer, then back up at Houshou. "I'll have twenty of… something maybe ten times stronger than this."

"What's the matter?" Houshou asked.

"More crazy," Mutsu replied, lowering her head to the wooden surface. Whatever it was that Nagato had told her, it had thrown the battleship for a complete loop. Houshou turned to go and look through her stores. It seemed like the strange few days weren't quite over yet.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Sipping her coffee, Pennsylvania hummed as she watched her red faced sister take a cup of water along with what seemed like a chunk of a bottle of asprin before gulping both down. Beside her, Zuihou took back the bottle of pills before slipping them into a pocket. Then the Light Carrier opened a bottle of water and added something to it before once more sealing it and shaking it. With that done, she handed it to Arizona who began to practically suck it down. All of this her older sister took in with silence before Richardson's voice spoke up. "It still surprises me how despite your problems with most of the other shipgirls, Zuihou you trust implicitly."

The Battleship glanced at him before grunting. "She's proven herself." For a brief moment, the image of a badly wounded Zuihou in her arms flashed through her mind with the shipgirl asking if "Arizona-Sama was alright". 'The fact she sent her whole airgroup just to protect her and leave herself defenseless...' Shaking it off, she grumbled. "She's different from the rest."

On Richardson's face there was a thoughtful look before turning back to the Light Carrier who was now getting headpats from Arizona and smiling. Like Shimakaze and her sisters, she had decided on Arizona as her "Momboat" of sorts, with Jane as a sister. Something that the littlest Richardson was over the moon with. "I suppose so."

Both of them just sat there and watched as Zuihou sat silently beside Arizona who had her red face in her hands grumbling to herself. The small Carrier patting the larger Battleship on the back and they could almost hear her comforting Arizona in her embarrassment. Feeling the gaze of the Battleship, Pennsylvania gave him a small glare. "Yes?"

Raising his eyebrows, Richardson chuckled some. "I was just wondering why you didn't stop Ari from getting drunk. I know that you recognized what was going on, and yet you let it continue." He then narrowed his eyes some. "Why?"

Much to his surprise, the Battleship smirked. "Why? It is rather simple." Taking a loud slurp of her coffee, Pennsylvania chuckled in a way that Richardson had not heard from her before. It was one full of mirth and bemusement. "My sister can do sometimes with loosening up as it is." With another slurp of coffee, her smirked widened a touch. "And it helps that it is always rather amusing..."

Eyes narrowing slightly, Richardson watched as Pennsylvania walked off. Part of him remembered something that Saratoga had once mentioned to him. That after the incident with Blair, Pennsylvania had teased her younger sister at times. Right up to when Pearl Harbor happened, it was something that the elder of the two used to lighten the mood. Slowly, Richardson sipped at his own coffee and shook his head. 'I don't know if that is a good sign or not, but I think that I will take it as such.' After a few more moments of thought, Richardson nodded to himself and began to walk away himself. 'Yup, I'll take the fact that she's willing to tease as a good sign now.'

Upstairs meanwhile, Jane was staring at the ceiling silently as Minimu and Smolzona tried to comfort her. Then in a flash, she groaned and put the pillow over her face. 'Why can't I forget what Ari-Mama said... Why!?"

All Minimu did was pat her on the head and shake her head. "Muuu~"
__________________________________________________________________________________

Pouring out some warm cider, Rose hummed a bit as she looked over at Myrtle who was watching in interest. "I am quite sorry for missing yesterday, Myrtle. But things got a bit... crazy."

Softly chuckling, Myrtle shook her head before taking a plate with ham and other foods on it. "I can imagine, things got rather hectic around here as well yesterday. What with how Revina showed up." A number of snickers escaped her as she shook her head. "It was actually really funny when it happened." Then the ghost turned to the side and gave a slight nod of her head. "Thank you, Miss Haruna for cooking these foods for me."

Haruna just shook her head and smiled. "Haruna did not mind at all, Myrtle-San. In fact, Haruna is happy to meet Rose-Chan's friend and tea partner." Finger tapping against her chin, she looked down at the plate she had given Myrtle as the ghost dug in with gusto. "Haruna's chef hopes that you enjoy it though. It is a bit different then what he usually makes."

With a quick swallow, Myrtle turned and blinked before frowning. "Could I... talk with him quickly?"

Tilting her head to the side, Haruna only nodded before clinching one hand and then opening it. She then held it palm up so that Haruna could see the small fairy there. "Desu."

For her part, Myrtle placed the plate to the side and then kneeled. Much to the fairy's surprise, she bowed towards him. "Thank you for cooking this meal for me. It means a lot to actually have food after so long and I am extremely happy with it."

Lips twitching, Haruna was rather amused as the chef bowed back to Myrtle with a blush on his cheeks. She could tell that he was extremely pleased by both the compliment and the respect being given. "Desu, desu desu desu."

And with that, he vanished into Haruna's sleeves as Myrtle went back to eating. As she did so, Myrtle frowned thoughtfully. "I wish that I could have gotten you a present or some such for Christmas. But..."

However, Haruna shook her head and waved her off. "Haruna wants you to perish the thought. In fact, Haruna likes being here with Rose-Chan's friend and that is a gift enough." Then a saddened look came over her face for a second before she shook it off. "Haruna... knows what it is like to be alone."

Even though she was curious, Myrtle did not say anything to that and simply nodded. Somehow, she knew that it was not something to really talk about. The ghost then turned back to her meal and continued to demolish it while making conversation with both Haruna and Rose. More then thankful that she had met Rose the previous year.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Well, this snippet-a-day streak had to come to a close eventually. My junior year of college came just short of a failure, and if I want to graduate I'm going to really have to knuckle down. So let's see--I started it off on the 2nd... kept going almost a month. If I could do the same with my drawing, I'd become a master of my chosen career by the end of December. So hear goes. One more kick in the heart.
*-*-*-*-*-*
Goodbye Hello

"… it's isolated, and there's a lake nearby so you won't be located too far away from a source of water," the admiral human kept speaking. Tanya dearly wanted to inform him that she had already gotten the gist of what he was saying—"we're moving you to a special place because keeping you here is too tricky-slash-inconvenient"—but she figured that blowing him off would annoy the Shipgirls and that wasn't something that she was in any position to do. Even though she had regained some of her lost mobility thanks to the funny wheeled chair that they had made for her, she had still lost almost all of her combat ability.

Also, she thought, a curious heat growing in her chest, Norihara would probably have let him finish.

True to her promise, the human doctor had come to visit her several times after their meeting that day. She hadn't asked any more questions, but she had helped her adjust to some of the accommodations that the navy had put together for her. Such as the wheeled chair. After she had gotten it, she had ended up simply spinning in place over and over again until Norihara had shown her how to work the wheels, and had pushed her around afterwards.

Whoops, the admiral human was still talking. She should listen.

"Now, you will need a fulltime caretaker," he was saying, "and yes—" he added, forestalling her question, "we are going to ask Doctor Norihara if she's interested. But ultimately, that's her choice and we have to respect if she wants to keep working at the hospital…"

-----

"Do you think that would be good for her heart?" Hiei said, pushing the curtain aside to look at the Abyssal battleship beaming at the Admiral at the option of living with the woman who she seemed to look at as Santa Claus, Hongou Takeshi, and some kind of truth-bringing Old Testament prophet all rolled into one. Ooyodo groaned and threw her hands into the air.

"I don't care anymore!" she growled. Hiei looked over her, taking in her slightly haggard appearance and disarrayed hair.

"… So, you're still not satisfied that Yokosuka's been sufficiently child-proofed?" she asked.

"The buildings have sharp edges!" Ooyodo screeched. Hiei nodded matter-of-factly.

"Uh-huh. Aaaand you're sleep deprived," she said knowingly. "Leave the mom-ing to the actual mom, okay?"

-----

Ushio stood at the door, waiting nervously.

The day had started out like a normal weekend day—which it wasn't. It was the middle of the school week.

Things had changed once she had arrived home while preparations were made. The most physically obvious had been Nijima-sensei's absence—not a permanent one, though Ushio didn't see why it would. The trip hadn't been messed up by any fault of hers, after all. She didn't see why Tenryuu had to walk down the halls of the school in plain view of all the students and faculty to the headmaster's office and explain to him in excruciating detail the myriad ways it wasn't Nijima-sensei's fault.

The second change, and the one that took a little longer to notice, was the way everyone's attitudes towards her shifted. It seemed that, somewhere along the way, word had gotten out that schoolgirl Nagawa Namiko was something a little bit more than a schoolgirl. On the deepest level, there was an undercurrent of respect in everyone's dealings with her. On the surface… people were a lot more nervous around her, which was odd considering her shier tendencies. And sometimes…

On her second day back, she had found her gym uniform with the word "Kaibutsu" scribbled across it in acrylic paint. When she saw it, she mused about the wisdom of trying to torment a girl with the speed, strength, and firepower of a World War II warship. When Umi and Saki had found out about it, they had respectively raged and sworn to give the offender a piece of her mind and facepalmed ruefully, but more likely than not silently agreed to do so herself. The next day, someone had the bright idea of trying to drop a flowerpot on Umi's head.

Ushio had pushed her aside and vaporized the flowerpot with a punch that set all the windows in the next two blocks rattling. The would-be bullies never came forward, and she saw no reason to seek them out.

The day before, the Kanmusu Tracking Club had thrown her a goodbye party. There had been cake, drinks, and laughs and memories of the days before the trip started and everything changed for her. Mamiya had even tried to give a speech, but Yae had interrupted her with a rant on the meaning of great power and the power of friendship that the club president ruefully admitted was actually better than anything she had planned after the toku fangirl slipped into a sugar coma. The only one who hadn't been there was Saki, so Ushio and Umi had gotten her address from Mamiya and gone to see her.

The door slid open and Saki stood before them, her hair—usually braided—let down to brush her thighs. She gave them a panicked look, and would have slammed the door had Ushio not shoved her hand between it and the latch. She spun and planted her back against the door.

"Go away!" she shouted through the gap, and Ushio thought she could hear tears in her voice.

"I came to say goodbye. You weren't at the party, and I…"

"You said it! Goodbye!" Saki stormed. "Now leave!"

"Tohda-san, what is wrong with you?" Ushio shouted. "This isn't like you at all!"

"Just-Just go!" she heard her friend stammer. "I thought I could do this, I thought I could say it, but I can't! I can't do goodbye! I never have, it hurts, and it scares me! I can't do it!" Ushio and Umi stood, staring at the door for a second, before Ushio finally pulled her hand from the frame and planted it against the door as it clicked shut.

"I'll write you," she said. "I'll write you every week, you and Umi both. I'm already doing it for my family, so it's just two more names on the mailing list. That way, it's like I'm not gone at all—"

The door slammed open, and Saki slammed into Ushio, hugging her like a beloved childhood teddy bear that she could no longer keep, growing too old for it. She wept like that self-same child, and Ushio exchanged a glance with Umi. The two embraced her, and they stood there in front of the door until someone yelled at them to come in or leave, but stop standing there like a couple of idiots.

And that was how Ushio met the controlled chaos that was Saki's family, and she thought that her life was a tiny bit richer for it but only barely. That night, she had packed, going through everything she needed to bring.

She needed to bring her clothes, toothbrush, and a few other assorted toiletries. She needed to bring so much more. The picture that sat on her bedside table, of the family breaking down and laughing during one of those formal picture-taking event times. The tiny stuffed rabbit that her father had, against all odds, won her at the shooting game at that festival three years ago. The old quilt that her mother had made for her when she had gotten so sick that she couldn't even stand. The model airplane that her brother had made for her and flown with her after she recovered from her convalescence. Everything that she saw or touched seemed to have some kind of memory attached to it, and every memory was suddenly so dear to her, so much a part of her, that she couldn't bear to leave it behind.

But leave it behind she must, and she had agonizingly pared down her luggage to the few boxes that stood beside her, waiting to travel to wherever it was that the Navy would send her. Behind her, she heard her parents speaking in hushed voices. She prayed that they weren't rethinking their decisions regarding this—if they were, she didn't know if she would be able to walk out the door. Footsteps fell behind her, and she turned and looked up at her brother. Kneeling down, he pulled her into a hug.

"Nii-san," she said, squirming embarrassedly, but he shushed her and held her tightly.

"Give me this," he whispered in her ear. "I've only got today." So she relented, and tried to notice how he cried for her without shedding tears. And when the moment was gone and he stepped back, she threw herself forward and hugged him as best she was able.

Finally, the doorbell rang like a death knell (or maybe a church bell?) and Ushio released her brother, steeled herself, and opened the door. Outside was Mutsu, who smiled at her gently.

"It'll be a moment," she said, "there are a few more things that I have to talk about with your parents. In the meantime…" she glanced over her shoulder briefly, and her smile turned a few notches fonder. "There're some girls here who want to talk." She stepped forward and Ushio stood aside, letting her in, and then seeing past her the four girls standing on the lawn. She had only met two of them face to face, but she knew each of them by heart and butterflies filled her stomach with joy, hope, and fear.

"Ayanami," she said, turning to each of the girls in their turn, "Shikinami. Amagiri. Oboro. Would you like to come in?" Shikinami sniffled in response, which seemed an affirmation as the four of them stepped forward. Walking into the house, they slid their shoes off and milled about by the door hopefully. Then Amagiri looked up at Ichiro, and Ushio realized that they had never—"Ah, this is Ichiro. He's my older brother, which…"

"Actually," Shikinami said, choking on her words initially. As things slid away from being the sisters she had always and never known, her voice came on stronger. "I was kind of wondering about that. If we're your sisters, and he's your brother, does that make him our brother, or—"

"Do you want him to be?"

Mom's voice cut through the tension like a warm knife, and as one the girls turned to look at Ushio's parents. Mutsu looked between the two and laughed, and as her heart began to beat like a piston and the words, their context, and their meaning fell into place, Ushio realized what her mother and father had been talking about in private and in whispers these past few days.

I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry.

Crap.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

smthng

rdmcmains said:
Still waiting for someone to write a canon first meeting between Tenryuu and Albie, either here or on BB (probably BB, since they've been around for quite a while here)​

Spoiler: Original
Tenryuu grinned at the submarine. "You. You're cute. I like you."

The grin disappeared in a flash when she noticed that Ikazuchi had, for some reason, grabbed a fire extinguisher. "Aki, put that thing down this very moment!"

Albie was left to look at the back of the cruiser, who was currently berating her less well-behaved daughter. "Um. Okay. That happened."

Tenryuu's natural born here so the silly "kanmusu are afraid of what killed them" -trope doesn't apply.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Well, you made me write a greatly expanded version of the scene. Hope you're happy...
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

"Albacore, huh? She looks cute," Tenryuu commented to her sister, causing Tatsuta to give her a dubious look.

"Cute, nee-san?"

Tenryuu grinned and used her free hand to gesticulate around her head. "Yeah, she's like so hard trying to look cool and awesome and, like, have this air of 'don't fuck with me, yeah!' around her. But it all falls flat 'cause she's cute as a button in those clothes and stuff."

Tatsuta raised an eyebrow. "You don't say, nee-san."

Tenryuu gave her sister an enthusiastic nod. "Yeah! That's exactly what I'm saying! Anyway, did you have any specific reason to point her out? It's not like we haven't had subgirls here before."

Tatsuta tilted her head and just stared at her sister for a few moments. "Really, Tenryuu-chan~?"

The older cruiser's wide grin quickly turned into an annoyed frown. "I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, Tatsuta. But whatever it is, cut it out, I'm not interested."

"Maa, maa, Tenryuu-chan," the younger cruiser said in a placating voice. "You really don't remember?"

"At least I can't get what you're aiming at," Tenryuu rolled her eyes.

"It's just that Albacore was the one who sank you, nee-san," Tatsuta answered. "I would have thought you'd like to have her pointed out."

For a few moments Tenryuu just stared at her sister. Then she blinked. "Huh. So she did. I had completely forgotten."

"Tenryuu-chan!" Tatsuta burst out, her voice full of (false) outrage. "You don't even remember what sank you?" The outrage immediately turned into (equally false) sadness. "I guess you can't remember what happened to your sister either, then...?"

"USS Sand Lance, Balao class, near Hachijo-jima," Tenryuu immediately replied. Tatsuta's fake sadness quickly turned into a pout.

"Maa~a, Tenryuu-chan. Here I thought you'd be so cool when faced with your killer..."

Tenryuu blinked. "Cool?"

Tatsuta nodded a few times, her face still scrunched up in a pout. "Mmm-M, Tenryuu-chan! Most ship girls are deathly afraid of the ones that killed them, you know. It would have been a perfect chance to show everyone how awesome you are..."

"Awesome?"

Again, Tatsuta nodded. "Yeah, you could have just walked up to your killer and introduced yourself. No matter how brave, most girls just aren't up to that..."

For a few seconds Tenryuu stared at her sister. Then she glanced back at the American submarine, who was currently sitting together with Jintsuu, eating. "Brave, you say...?"

Tatsuta just nodded, smiling.

"Most aren't up to it, you say?"

Tatsuta nodded again, her smile widening a bit.

Tenryuu grabbed a spoonful of her curry, and for a while munched on it and stared at the American girl. Then her contemplative look turned into a grin, and she quickly wiped her lips to her sleeve. "Well, I guess I could go and say hello. It's only polite, right?"

Tatsuta made agreeing noises and closed her eyes. Her smile was wide enough to almost split her face "Too true, Tenryuu-chan."

Tenryuu stood up and cracked her neck. "Watch after my curry, will you sis?"

"Of course~!" Tatsuta hollered and waved to Tenryuu, who was already making her way towards the American. "Have fu~n!"

While Tenryuu downright swaggered towards the table Jintsuu and Albacore shared, the rest of the ship girls gathered in the mess hall started to take notice of the light cruiser. When they noticed where Tenryuu was apparently heading, many of them nudged their friends and pointed towards the unfolding spectacle.

Upon reaching the somehow still-oblivious pair Tenryuu summoned her best grin, and leaned forward, placing her hand on the table right next to Albacore's tray. "Yo, I heard you're USS Albacore?"

Slowly, the American submarine turned to look at cruiser who had suddenly appeared next to her and Ms. Jintsuu. Then she slowly turned to look at Jintsuu, who was giving the newly arrived ship girl an uncertain look. Then she turned back and nodded.

Still grinning, Tenryuu slapped her chest with her free hand. "Name's Tenryuu, the name ship of the Tenryuu class cruisers. I've been told we met once, back in forty-three."

Again Albacore nodded. Curiously, she watched as Tenryuu leaned forward, her grin widening.

"Anyway, I just wanted to come to say that you. You're cute. And I li-" Suddenly, the grin on the cruiser's face froze, and she quickly whipped her head around. Albacore followed the cruiser's eyes, and saw a pair of destroyers playing around with a fire extinguisher. Though maybe just one of them was playing around and the other was trying to prevent her, or something.

The cruiser shot back up and started running towards the two ships. "Aki, put that thing down right now! What do you think you're doing!?"

Albacore was left to look at the back of the larger ship girl, as she dashed to berate the two destroyers.

"Um. Well. That happened."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Sipping at his lukewarm drink, Goto leaned back as he observed the newest summon at Yokosuka. He had been told about her the night before and, while he was not in the slightest bit impressed with how it had come about, Goto was somewhat happy. Another Light Cruiser was always welcome and he already had an idea or two where he could use her. Shaking those thoughts off, though making note for them later, he examined her a bit more closely. It went without saying that he was surprised at how close to Naka she resembled.

As a matter of fact, if both of them were Natural Borns, then they could be mistaken for identical twins.

One of the major differences of course was that Naka herself was currently in her Kai Ni while the new one was in the same commissioning gear she would have had in 1924 if she had been launched. And wasn't that a big thing? Goto had known about how Naka was actually the second of that name in the class with the first being so burnt in the fires that raged in the aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake that she was scrapped. Then what was salvaged was used to build the newer Naka. Akashi had told him there was always a chance of summoning her, but it had never happened... until the night before when her twin and Harder had summoned her while drunk.

In regards to said two shipgirls, they were both currently in the office at the moment in different chairs and nursing their hangovers. Most would have taken pity on them. Goto meanwhile? He cranked the music coming from his computer up just a touch. Not enough to get called on it, but enough to effect the two as both Naka and Harder flinched and the Light Cruiser gave him a glare. While he may not like death metal, it did have it's uses as it turned out...

Such as making lessons for two drunk shipgirls stick.

Then a sound caused him to focused his attention onto the newer, older? The other Naka as she was reading through a small shef of papers. One that Goto had put together when he realized that he might get shipgirls from before the 1930s who don't remember what happened. Especially after what happened with Tosa, Kana, and the Amagi sisters. And it seemed like it was a good thing that the Admiral had done so as Naka-α, as Harder was already calling her, out down the papers and took a deep, steady calming breath. Though it did look like she was about to get sick. Hands covering her face, Naka-α swallowed before speaking with her voice tinged with disbelief and dismay. "Is... is this right?"

Leaning back, Goto considered her for a few moments before giving a nod. "Every bit. All that's down there is what happened, though in less detail."

Her tone one of dispair, Naka-α shook her head. "It's detailed enough." Pulling her hands away from her face, Goto flinched a bit at the look in her eyes. "Junior Officers starting a war to drag the country into and getting away with it. The military basically replacing the civilian government... Lower ranked Officers assassinating higher ranked ones, people getting punished for following the same rules regarding prisoners that we did in the Great War and saw us praised for. What happened to those same prisoners... Experimentation on humans and..." Slowly, she turned and stared at Harder and Naka. "You both said that the Americans respected us!"

Even though her head was pounding, Harder shook it and sighed. "And we do, believe it or not. I mean, you did give us a hell of a fight during the war, though you were desparate in the end-"

A scowl was on Naka-α's face as she smacked the papers. "Yes, these... Kamikaze. To think that my nation would have young men throw away their lives for practically nothing! What... what possible purpose could there be for that!?"

With his hands clasped in front of his face, Goto considered her for a moment. "None really. It was an insane idea from a time when we had gone insane."

Scowl deepening, Naka-α snarked at him a bit. "That much is obvious." Freezing as she realized her tone, she froze and then gulped before bowing. "I-I am sorry, Teitoku."

Goto simply waved her off with a small snort. "Don't worry about it. I've had far worse come at me from others before."

Even though Naka-α was staring at him, Naka coughed and caught her attention. "But as to us being friends... we weren't lying about that." At the disbelieving look she got, the Light Cruiser shook her head. "I was born as a human before awakening as a shipgirl so I've grown up in modern Japan. We've been friends with the Americans for over eighty years now and allies for about as long. And now we're fighting side by side with them against a mutual foe and with respect between us."

Looking back down at the papers now in her lap, Naka-α swallowed at the picture of a Abyssal there. Something kept screaming that it was wrong to her in some way, but she shoved that down. But ignoring that, she turned her attention onto Harder who was watching her with a slight frown. "But... why?"

Despite not getting much more then that from her, Harder could understand from the plaintive tone in the other Naka's voice. Even though she knew it was not her close friend, something about her made the Submarine want to wrap her in her arms and hold her close as she told the other Naka that everything was going to be alright. "Because, that's how we roll. After the war, we helped to rebuild Japan so that mistakes of the past wouldn't happen again and that we could stand as allies against mutual threats. We've left the past where it should stay... in the past for the most part."

Her pose slumping in her chair, Naka-α just stared down at her hands. Everything was so damn confusing to her. Last she remembered, it was 1923 and now it was nearly ninety years later and so much had changed and happened. Not to mention she was a ship made of steel and was now a human woman. One that she would admit was quite beautiful and would have attracted a number of admirers when she was being built. "I'm just so..."

Moments later, a hand placed itself on her shoulders and she looked to the side to find Harder there with a small smile. "Hey, cheer up. Both Naka-Chan and I are here for you."

On her other side, Naka placed her own arm over her twin's shoulders and then winked. "Hai, hai, Naka-Chan, Idol of the Fleet will take good care of you~ So don't worry."

Behind his desk, Goto slowly nodded as he listened and noticed the small smile on his newest shipgirl's face. He didn't want to interrupt this or ruin the moment. He really did not, but he had a job to do. "So then... which one of you two are taking responsibility then and making the other a respectable woman?" It was worth it for the befuddled looks on both Naka's and Harder's faces before they reddened and turned into expressions of horror as he gestured at them both. "After all, one of you is the Tou-San and the other the Kaa-San. Don't let her be a child of an unmarried couple."

Just as the two were about to shout at him, Naka-α had a look normally seen on the older one. Then she pointed at Harder. "She's the Tou-San..." She then pointed at the frozen Naka. "And she's the Kaa-San. Especially considering the positions they were in when I came about."

Slowly, Goto's lips turned upwards as he chuckled. 'I think that we might get along just fine.'
___________________________________________________________________________

Leaning back against Hibiki's turret, Harry smiled a bit as the wind whipped his hair in pretty much every direction. It might have been a bit chilly out, but he wasn't bothered by it in the end as his friend's steel bow cut through the waves of the late December Pacific. Turning, he regarded another one of his friends with a raised eyebrow. "You okay there, Natsumi-Chan?"

The kitsune though only grinned back at him. "Are you kidding me, Harry-Chan? This is incredible!" Her head then turned and she gave a nod towards Verniy who was walking up. "Thank you, Hibiki-Chan for this. I really appreciate this."

Softly smiling, the white haired Destroyer only nodded at her. "You are very welcome. And I do not mind it, our mission is very Khorosho after all." She then pulled out a plate with what looked like bread on it. "Since it is lunch, I had some pirozhki made for us."

Head tilted to the side, Natsumi frowned as she took one of the offered pieces. "Piro-zhki? What's that?"

Only shaking her head, Verniy chuckled. "It is a type of Russian meat bun, it's very good." Much to her amusement, Harry bit into his and closed his eyes with a hum. "You like?"

Eyes opening, Harry's green eyes stared into her steel blue ones. "Hai, I do, Hibiki-Chan. They taste really, really good. Thanks." To the side, Natsumi finally shrugged before taking a bite herself. After a few minutes, she nodded and agreed with the two of them. "Anyways, I hope that Umi-San and Sakura-San like what we're bringing them."

With a snort, Natsumi swallowed the bite in her mouth before taking a swing of the offered baked milk that Verniy gave her. "I'm sure that they will, Harry-Chan. Though they will be confused I think by it." At Harry's confusion, she shook her head. "They last knew a lot of Japan in the 1940s, Harry-Chan. Back then, Christmas was... no where near as popular as it is now as a holiday."

Just as Harry was about to say something, Verniy grunted some. "That is putting it mildly."

Scratching his chin, Harry finally shrugged his shoulders and took another bite of food. "I guess. Kind of forgot about that since everyone else likes it." Ignoring the bemused looks the two girls were giving him, Harry frowned a bit. "Still hope that they like the food and presents we're bringing, though its a day late."

Verniy frowned a bit as she glanced at the horizon to the south. "Da, I agree with Natsumi-Chan. I am sure that they will like the gifts, Harry-Chan. They have before after all."

For a moment, Harry considered that before he turned to Natsumi and frowned a bit at what was on her belt. "So you're bringing that knife, Natsumi-Chan? Why?"

Blinking, Natsumi looked down to see that the dagger that she had been given by Harry a few years back was there on her waist. Then she shrugged some with a frown on her face. "Just felt like it really. Besides... I got the oddest feeling that it might come in handy soon."

Even though Harry was confused, he nodded some as he had an odd feeling as well. Not enough of one to put off the trip, something also told him to continue it, but it still made him ask for all of DesDiv6 to come along with them. Though he was still confused about why Tenryuu was always blushing at the disturbed looks that Inazuma and Ikazuchi gave her. Or the highly amused ones on Tatsuta's face, though when he asked, he only got grumbles and comments of how Tenryuu was going to kick some Canadian ass when she got the chance.

Meanwhile, Verniy kept an eye on the south where she could just see a storm gathering. Not that she thought there was much issue as they should be well on their way home when it struck. But while she recognized that it was not in any way Abyssal formed, something about it still caused her to grip her sword that Harry had given her.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

As Verniy cut her engines down and entered the cauldera, Harry could only blink at the sight that met him. Not far from where they had made landfall before, an old barge now sat. From where he was, he could see a reinforced ladder that went down to the water. But there was also a walkway that went from the barge to the shore itself. Turning towards to Verniy, he jerked his thumb at it. "Since when was that there?"

Verniy glanced at him before smiling slightly. "Teitoku had it added back in October to help people make landings there. Especially us shipgirls rather then us continually coming ashore." She then gave a small nod. "It also is where those on ships can disembark."

Watching as they crossed the deep waters of the collapsed volcano, Harry nodded and all too soon reached the barge. Waving, Harry grinned some as he could spot two pale shapes moving among the ruins towards the barge. "UMI-SAN! SAKURA-SAN! I'M BACK!"

By the time that the gangplank was down with Harry and Natsumi descending along it, the two ghosts were already there and bowing. "Harry-San, Natsumi-Sama. Welcome back to our island." They then smiled at the two. "It's great to have the two of you back here."

Much to their surprise, and Natsumi's amusement, Harry hugged the two of them. "It's great to be back!" Pulling back some, he shook his head with a small frown. "Sorry for not getting back here sooner. But I've been busy for the past few days..."

However, the two just waved him off and watched as Verniy's hull disappeared into a cloud of sparkles with the white haired Destroyer hopping onto the barge and causing it to rock some. Then they turned back to Harry as the rest of DesDiv6 climbed onboard. "That's alright, Harry-San. At least you did come after all..." More then a little unsure, they trailed off and looked at each other. "Though we are unsure as to why you are visiting."

Now grinning, Harry shook his head. "Because of what day it was yesterday." At their confusion, Harry hugged the two of them again. "Merry Christmas you two. A bit late, but..."

Blinking, they looked from each other to Natsumi and the shipgirls who nodded. "Merry Christmas!"

Sakura frowned slightly before turning to Tenryuu. "Christmas? As in the Christian holiday?"

Just nodding as she placed her hands behind her head, Tenryuu gave a shrug. "Kind of? Nowadays it's not really religious or anything." Shrugging, she frowned a bit. "It's more a day to spread happiness and spend time with family. I mean, before the war when I could I used to take Ami and Aki to KFC when I managed to scrape enough money together and get a reservation for the actual meal."

That got her another blink before the twins turned to Inazuma and Ikazuchi who smiled. "Kentucky Fried Chicken is super popular for Christmas! And it's super good too."

Unsure, the ghosts slowly nodded. "We see..." They glanced to where they could see some of the Japanese ghosts glaring at their visitors before suddenly smiling and giving Harry a hug. "Merry Christmas, Harry-San."

Needless to say, the glares only increased though the ghosts couldn't do anything to Harry and the others. It was not long after that the group were taking seats inside of the small shack that was the twins' residence on the island. Glancing around, Tatsuta gave a small nod. "Rather cozy in here."

Blushing slightly, Umi glanced at where Sakura and gave a shy smile. "It may not be much, but it is ours. We do rather like our little home here."

From where he sat, Harry glanced around the small shack. The walls, formerly bare were now painted a soft purple. Along one wall was the bookcase they had gotten the twins, but there was now more books there then before. Above the window though was something of a surprise as it seemed the twins had gotten a string of ladybug shaped lights used in gardens and hung them there. Harry could tell that when night fell that they would light up in the darkness. "It's changed quite a bit from what I remember."

A smile was on Sakura's face as there also was on Umi's with both of them nodding. "We have gotten together a few items to make it nicer. But we are still highly thankful for what you made for us."

Akatsuki smiled from where she was setting up cups of eggnog that her crew had made inside her hull. Mainly because the twins could drink it and hummed. "It's very lady-like! But you should open your presents first."

Eyes widening, the twins watched as each of them placed a small box in front of them. When they pointed to themselves, the rest of the group nodded with smiles and watched as their expressions brightened. Soon enough, all the items were unwrapped and placed to the side. Most of them were odds and ends that did not need electricity to operate. For example, Sakura and Umi were enraptured by a dancing sunflower powered by sunlight. From Tatsuta, they got some modern reproductions of old woodcuts as posters.

But it was when they got to Harry's, the last one, that they paused. Umi turned it over in her hands as Sakura tilted her head to the side and looked at Harry. "Harry-San? A book?"

There was an odd smile on Harry's face as he shook his head. "Just open it, Umi-San, Sakura-San. It has to do with something that you asked for me to do."

Confused, the two did as asked and froze.

Inside the book were various pictures of Kyoto which they stared at. With shaking hands, they reached out and placed their hands on one colored photo that looked like it was almost a window. "This... You got us pictures... pictures of our home..."

With a chuckle, the black haired wizard shrugged. "Well... You mentioned that they would like some photos of Kyoto since you lived there. And that's why I got them for you..." Scratching the back of his head, he looked across the small table to the two spirits who were still silent and going through the book page by page. On their faces were almost hungry looks. "Um, I take it that you like it?"

Moments later, he watched as they set the book down and then in a flash, they were hugging him tightly. "Yes, Harry-San, we like it. Thank you so very much."

Pumping her fist, Ikazuchi laughed. "Okay! Now that is out of the way it's time to eat!" Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a cake and placed it down onto the table. "I got the Christmas cake!"

With an amused look shared with Harry, Natsumi shook her head and then pulled out a box that she pulled an ofuda off of. "I have some fried chicken from Louisiana-San. Also gravy."

Slowly, but surely, food began to pile up on the table as the twins looked on in awe. Then their awe turned to bright smiles as they looked at each other. 'We got the best friends, don't we, Nee-San?'

Nodding, Sakura barely held back a sniffle. 'The very best. After so long the Kami smile down on us now.'
_______________________________________________________________________

It was when they were eating cake that Harry suddenly perked up some and looked towards his two spirit friends. "Um, Ume-San? Sakura-San? Can I ask you something?" Mouths full of cake, they just nodded. "I've been meaning to ask someone about onmyoudo but I keep forgetting around Haru-San and both Junyou-Oba and Ryuujou-Oba haven't been around. It's not exactly something to bring up in letters and you both know about Onmyoudo, right?"

There was amused looks on the two ghosts' faces as they nodded with Umi answering for their both. "While we did not have magic to use it with, we know quite a bit in regards to Onmyoudo. So go ahead and ask."

Leaning forward some, Harry gathered his thoughts and then let out a breath. "Well, back at Hogwarts I am friendly with this ghost names Myrtle. And I was wondering if there was some way to free her to wander around again using onmyoudo..."

As he explained things, both Sakura and Umi listened intently. There was some amusement there from them as he was asking two ghosts about freeing a ghost from where they were bound. Something that he had asked about them, they knew and recieved an answer that not much could be done for them. Once he was done, they chewed some more cake and conversed quietly among themselves until Sakura placed down her cup of tea. "Hmm... so I am to understand that this Myrtle-San is a ghost of a murdered student? But there is more holding her to this world then just the need for revenge..."

Becoming thoughtful, Umi stared out at the sky which was clouding heavily over. "Neither of us know much about western Yuurei, Harry-San. Nor do we know of what methods were used to bind her to that one place. Considering what you said about them weakening over time though, that much is not an issue. However... there is one way that you may be able to go about freeing her in a fashion."

Suddenly perking up, Harry looked between the two of them. "There is? What is it?"

Fingers tapping against the table, Umi frowned a bit in thought. "You mentioned before that you are an onmyouji yourself, correct?" Getting a nod, she hummed a bit. "Being one does open one possibility then. It may be possible for you to make her into a shikigami of yourself given enough time and study."

Eyebrows raising, Natsumi looked between the two of them. "Turn her into a shikigami? Would that even work?"

Glancing at her, Sakura shook her head. "It might or might not. There's no real reason why it could not though being that shikigami are spirits and you have had those who used yokai as shikigami. Yuurei are a bit odd and unusual though we would admit and I would say under normal circumstances it would be impossible as it would take a very powerful onmyouji to force one into a shikigami. But here? If she is willing and the fact that she is both friends with him and a family connection with her, it might be possible. I would say that he should check first in regards to the possibility with those more knowledgeable than us for such a case."

Head tilting to the side, Harry slowly nodded in deep thought. "Something to ask Junyou-Oba and Ryuujou-Oba as well as Haru-Oba then." Suddenly, he took note of the rising wind outside and frowned. 'Huh, wonder what that is?'

It was shortly after that, that the storm hit the island, far quicker then anyone thought, no one had been ready. Three hours after it started, Tenryuu walked in with water literally cascading off her with a scowl on her face. "It's pretty damn bad out there you bunch." Turning towards Harry and Natsumi, she shook her head. "I would trust Hibiki with you any day of the week, but might as well let it calm down first. And being it's night already, we might be staying until day break so I already let Haru-San and Nagato-San know."

From where she stood by the window, Akatsuki gave a small shudder as she looked outside. "I don't like this storm, it's... unnatural."

Glancing from where he was examining some of the pictures with Sakura. "It is?" At their nods, not just from Akatsuki but the other shipgirls and Natsumi, Harry frowned and concentrated. Moments later, he shuddered as well and then shook off the oily feeling. "What the heck? Abyssals?"

Her back against the wall, Tatsuta frowned as she cracked open her eye some. "No, not Abyssals. It's something else, but what that something is..."

Natsumi meanwhile was glaring out at the storm with a scowl. "It feels really familiar to me, but... I can't figure out what it is or why."

Moments later, Sakura spoke up after sharing a look with her sister. "Actually... we know why." When they looked at her, she glanced at Natsumi for a brief moment. "Do you know about the hyakki yagyō?"

Eyebrows furrowing, Verniy looked between the two of them with a frown on her face. "The Parade of a Hundred Demons? I think that everyone has heard of it."

Harry gave a small shrug from where he was sat with an open book in his lap. "Yeah, I've heard about it. To be honest, it's reminded me of tales of the Wyld Hunt back in England and stuff." At their looks, he shrugged. "It's a large group of fae that roam the countryside, mostly on horses with spectral and hell hounds baying as they hunt anything they come across. If you come across it, if your really lucky you'll reach home. If you're sort of unlucky, they'll force you to join them for the night. If you're really unlucky, they'll make you the subject of their hunt and will chase you for the night and if they catch you, then you'll never be seen again."

Tilting her head to the side, Umi slowly nodded as she frowned. "These fae... they are the European version of yokai, are they not?"

Once more, Harry gave a small shrug. "Kind of? But not really at the same time? I mean, they're a bit hard to explain like that."

A cough though caused them to look back at Tenryuu and the two of them blushed as she fixed them with a look and her tone of voice turned dry. "As fascinating as that is, I want to know what the Parade of a Hundred Demons has to do with what is going on here. After all, that happens in the Summer, not the winter and last I remember does not cause storms."

Bemused at the embarrassed looks on both Harry's and her sister's faces, Sakura nodded. "And you would be quite correct, Tenryuu-Sama. But that is the land version. In recent years we have seen an aquatic version spring up in the area. It's not quite a hyakki yagyō, but it's close enough. Groups of different aquatic yokai travelling through the night though to where we do not know. We think that they may be heading to fight the Abyssals, or perhaps to hang aroudn the battles happening for the chance to feed on whatever remains."

It was then that Umi took over. "However, one common thing among them is that they are usually lead by a umi bōzu. It is that which stirs up the weather such as it were." Closing her eyes, she frowned for a moment as she connected to the spells surrounding the island and nodded. "In this case, they have mostly passed the island by and the umi bōzu is quite a distance away. They do not bother us because they cannot get through the spells protecting the island."

Everyone was nodding except when they heard a throat clear and looked towards Natsumi who seemed rather pale. "They can't get through the spells, you said?" At their nods, she grimaced. "What about the hole in the spells we made?"

At those words, everyone fell silent as suddenly the storm stopped and Akatsuki took notice that there was a glow heading into the cauldera. "Kaa-San! Something is coming this way!"

Their eyes widening, they all rushed out of the shack into the now low drizzle and frowned as what looked like several old fashioned boats sailed into the crater and were even now heading for the shore. It took only moments for Tenryuu to grimace as she spotted the skeletal beings manning said ships. "Shit. Funayuurei..."

On board said ships, eyeless sockets turned in their direction as one by one, the crews leapt into the water and headed for the shore.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Appearing on the water in front of the yokai, Ume and Sakura gave them glares. "You are not welcome here, Funayuurei. This island does not belong to the likes of you, so leave this place."

Ghostly flames flickering in it's eyesockets, one of the leaders let out a cackle that sounded like bones clacking together. "You do not have the right to tell us what to do, Little Ones. We go where we want and take who we will. And we sense the souls on this island and will have them join our crew." It made a show of looking them up and down before giving a ghastly grin. "Perhaps we shall dig you up and do the same?"

The two Hitobashira froze as they stared at him before their expressions twisted into one of pure disgust. "So be it, do not blame us when you find yourselves facing your final punishment, whether that be Jigoku or Yomi.

Having said their peace, the two vanished and reappeared with the group. When they shook their heads, Natsumi grimaced and growled. "Just great. It was a long shot but still..."

Watching as the skeletal yokai came closer and closer, with more coming off the ships, Verniy narrowed her eyes not noticing her mother talking with Harry. "Da, this is not good. But we'll win easily."

As Harry gave a grinning Tenryuu a disbelieving look, Akatsuki grimaced. "I guess? But still, interrupting our party is not very lady-like!"

Nodding rapidly, Tenryuu was pointing at her phone as Harry pinched his nose. At the same time, Inazuma was waving her arms around. "Hwawawawa! Can't you do something, Sakura-San? Umi-San? This is your island after all!"

Both ghosts glanced to where Harry was walking into the shack with Tenryuu, a resigned look on his face. Then they shook it off and frowned with a sigh as they looked at the ghostly ships in the water. More then one of the yokai stopped and glared at them before continuing on. "It seems that they are quite hostile. As to doing something to the full extent of our power... There are reasons why we are... hesitant, to do such a thing." Despite the looks they were getting, neither explained before they straightened their backs. "However, we can speak to the other spirits to get them to help and..." All of a sudden, they blinked as an odd music drifted across the island. Somehow, it was loud enough to be heard everywhere, but not loud enough to stop them from hearing their own voices. "... What is that?"

The sound of steel impacting steel caused them to turn to Inazuma and Ikazuchi who were both facepalming. Natsumi meanwhile had her eyes clinched shut as if in pain. "I do not believe this... I do not seriously believe this..."

Slowly, they turned as a embarrassed Harry walked out of the shack behind Tenryuu with Ikazuchi staring at him. "A Final Fantasy battle theme... Really, Harry-Chan? I mean, really? And it's not even the more recent ones!"

In reply, Harry just jerked his thumb at Tenryuu who had the biggest grin anyone had seen on her. "Blame Tenryuu-Oba. She was the one who demanded that I use a spell to broadcast the music." Seeing their looks, he shrugged. "It was a household charm, okay? For parties and stuff and looked interesting."

Just pinching her nose, Natsumi sighed. "Only you, Harry-Chan. Only you."

Meanwhile, Inazuma ignored the approaching Yokai who had paused for a moment in complete confusion. "Kaa-San... Did you really have to do this, Nanodesu? And rope Harry-Chan into it? And the Final Fantasy IV version?"

Grinning so hard it hurt, Tenryuu nodded. "Of course I had to, Aki. We're facing a battle with yokai, in a party. We got a Black Mage." She gestured at Harry who snorted and had a bemused look on his face before pointing at Natsumi. "A White Mage."

Natsumi just gave her a look. "I'm a priestess, Tenryuu-San. Not a White Mage."

Raising his hand, Harry nodded. "And I'm a wizard in training, I don't know that much magic. Also, yeah, not a Black Mage."

However, Tenryuu only waved him off. "Fine, Red Mage then." Before Harry could comment, she raised a hand. "Hush. Anyways, Tatsuta here is our Dragoon. And..." Ignoring how Tatsuta had an amused look on her face, Tenryuu turned to Umi and Sakura. "Um... you said that you could summon spirits right?"

Completely and utterly confused by what was going on, the two ghosts slowly nodded. "We... might be able to? Or at least the spirits here on the island..."

Tenryuu only shrugged. "Yeah, that. So we got ourselves two summoners. I, of course, am the Paladin... or maybe the Samurai. Not to mention we got guns and weapons! This is so damn Final Fantasy, I don't know where to start!"

Facepalming, Ikazuchi groaned but it was Inazuma who gave her mother a disbelieving look. "So chunni, Kaa-San, Nanodesu."

Eye narrowed, Tenryuu grumbled as the music continued. "Not chunni, dammit. And let me have this, this once! I fucking loved Final Fantasy as a kid... Anyways, charge!"

As the rest rolled their eyes, Tenryuu cackled as she leapt forward towards where the yokai were now reaching the beach. Shaking her head, Verniy pulled out her sword that Harry had gotten her and followed. "Not Khorosho."

Shaking her head, Akatsuki sighed as she summoned her rigging and began to make her way down towards where Tenryuu was happily dancing as she slew one after another with her sword. "This is not very lady-like, you know."

With grumbles, Ikazuchi followed along with Inazuma, the first of the two shaking her head. "This is like the Ōsumi islands all over again."

Beside her, Inazuma frowned a bit. "I think that we remember the Ōsumi islands differently, Aki-Chan..."

About to comment, Harry just watched as Tatsuta crouched down before leaping several dozen meters into the air and coming down, her glaive bisecting an unfortunate funayuurei. Slowly, he turned to Natsumi who blinked. "You don't think..."

Her expression one that told Harry she was just about done with this, the kitsune shook her head. "Would it really be all that surprising if she did? She does live with Tenryuu-San after all, Harry-Chan."

Considering that, Harry took note of how close some of the lucky yokai had gotten and slowly nodded. "Yeah... Not really all that surprising."

Roughly two minutes later, the first of the yokai reached them and Natsumi pulled out her knife. Part of her noted that the funayuurei were surprised and were looking around, but she ignored that. Blood pounding in her ears, she jumped forward towards the nearest before lashing out with her knife, part of her preying that it being magical meant that it would work against funayuurei. As the knife pierced the breastbone of the nearest one, Natsumi's breath froze at the thunk.

And then her eyes widened as with a screech, the creature collapsed into dust. The yokai froze as they stared at what happened to their companion while Natsumi blinked and looked at her dagger. "Huh... more effective then I thought." Shaking that off, as well as how easily it killed, Natsumi was soon within the group. It went without saying that the funayuurei, though seemingly not really able to see her, kept trying to lash out. But Natsumi was a kitsune and if there was one thing that her aunt drilled into her, it was to use her speed and agility to the max and she easily dodged them. 'Huh... wonder why they can't seem to get close.'

For his part, Harry backed up some and grabbed a stone before breathing on it with a small chant. As it began glowing, he gave a glance to where he thought Natsumi was, but it was hard to see what was going on in the shadows. Quickly shaking it off, Harry tossed the now magic coated stone in his hand up into the air as he narrowed his eyes at one funayuurei charging him before his wand whipped out with it glowing purple. "Flipendo." As soon as the spell hit the stone, said object went flying at high speed into the funayuurei and there was a crack sound as it smashed the creature's skull to pieces. A little bit shocked, Harry soon shook it off and pulled up another stone. "Well, that works."
_______________________________________________________________________

Standing where they were, Sakura's eyes widened some as she noticed Inazuma twirl her anchor at high speeds before lashing out. Within seconds, it covered the distance between the shore and the nearest of the ghost ships, smashing through it and out the other side. Not finished though, Inazuma yanked back and to the side on the chain with her full strength, tearing the hole even wider. Her sister meanwhile just threw her own anchor into the air and then yanked down on the chain, this sending the anchor through another ghost ship and apparently all the way through it's bottom.

It went without saying that both ships slowly began to sink beneath the waves and disappear.

However, she soon dismissed that and turned her glare on the ghost in front of her. "What do you mean, you will not help! Do you not realize what they would do to you?"

The Japanese ghost though only sneered and crossed his arms. "You want us to help a gaijin. You who want us to be gone anyways." Scoffing, he shook his head as behind him the other Japanese ghosts nodded. "He and the traitors to the Emperor and our country will get no help from us."

A snarl escaped from Umi and she was about to say something when another voice spoke up. "No fucking wonder you fucking nips lost the war. And you keep going on about 'Honor'."

Umi turned and her eyes widened as she took in the American ghosts who walked up. While none of them had weapons as such, they had the tools that they used in life. The one who has spoken was tall and had a massive sledgehammer slung over his shoulder. Umi and Sakura were not the only ones who were sputtering as the Japanese spirit glared at them hatefully. "What do gaijin know of honor!"

Completely unamused, the American shrugged. "Apparently more then you at least." Ignoring the cursing, he turned his gaze to the two Hitobashira with a frown as behind him the others got out their tools. While they may not have been designed as weapons, they were still deadly. "So, tell us what to do, kiddo."

Glancing at her sister, Umi nodded. "Please, just help our friends get these yokai off our island. That is all that we got a right to do."

For several moments, the massive man stared down into her eyes silently. Then he chuckled a bit and nodded. "Consider it done, little lady. Boys! Let's go and kick some fucka-uuray ass or whatever those things are."

To loud cheers, the American ghosts rushed towards the fight with grins on their faces. Within a few seconds though, they were followed by one of the Japanese ghosts. And then another. From where they were, they could see the shipgirls fighting at the shoreline and out on the water. There was both the rattle of machine guns and the softer pops of rifles from the crews of said shipgirls firing at the Yuurei as they also physically fought them. Nearby, they could also see flashes of light and loud bangs as Harry used ofuda to take out what groups reached him. Add in the other sounds, and the two were at a loss when Sakura placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. "We could handle them all by ourselves, Nee-San. You know that."

Looking down at her hand, Umi swallowed nervously before shaking her head while moving a stone just enough to trip up one of the Funayuurei. "We could, you are right. They did not need to fight, but then Harry-San and the others would see... Would see us like that. And..."

Slowly, Sakura nodded and sighed as she closed her eyes. "Hai. We could not handle how they might look at us after and-"

Her head suddenly whipped around in Harry's direction. Being Hitobashira, they could see everywhere at once and right now, they saw Harry fall backwards with the breath driven from his lungs. In front of him, the leader of the Funayuurei was glaring and raising a sword as both screamed at realizing that Natsumi and the others were too far away. "HARRY-SAN!"

While Natsumi was too far away to interfer, the twins had no problem and as the sword swung down, they appeared right there with Sakura grabbing said blade in one hand. Blinking, the Funayuurei scoffed at them. "And so the Little Ones decide to join us, huh? More fun for..."

From where he was, Harry could only blink as the yokai trailed off as he tried to yank back his sword, only for it to stay gripped in Sakura's hand, not budging an inch. At the same time, the battle tapered off as everyone turned to stare at where the Twins were. Nearby, Natsumi skidded to a halt in her run to reach Harry, every instinct telling her to run in the other direction as the two ghost girls hung their heads, their faces hidden by their hair. The air then began to get very, very cold and flames appeared around the Twins

But it was also then that the Funayuurei noticed something else.

The clothes that the two ghosts wore began to decay before his eyes, turning from pure white to a dirty grey. It also began to fray at the edges with cuts and tears appearing. "We warned you... we asked for you to leave..." At the same time, their skin dried out and cracked with blood vessels becoming visible as they turned pitch black along with their nails while their hair became tangled and dirty. "We told you to leave those under our protection alone. To leave our friends alone. But instead of listening to us and leaving, you laughed at us."Said skin then tightened against their bones as the Funayuurei tried desparately to pull back his sword, the rest slowly backing away. "And then you tried to harm them. Tried to kill one who we hold dear to us. Who has shown us kindness."

Everything seemed to hold it's breath and Harry stared at the two as blood stains appeared on their clothes.

And then their heads whipped up showing their faces now looked skull like, their eyes pitch black and sunken deep into their skull with skin tight against bone. Cracked and bleeding lips drew back from stained teeth in a snarl as black ichor dripped from their eyes. "That was a mistake."

It went without saying that the Funayuurei's leader only had time for to let go of his sword before the Twins lashed out with a palm strike sending him and several others flying almost all the way back to the shore. In the caldera itself, the water frothed and bubbled before it began to swirl around. Tatsuta looked down before shaking a struggling Funayuurei off her glaive. Despite the currents, there was calm water around her, and just around her and the other shipgirls. "My, my, looks like someone might be a touch angry."

Her eye wide, Tenryuu watched one of the ghost ships whip past and get sucked down into the massive whirlpool that formed from which a roar could be heard. Part of her just knew that they would never be bothering anyone ever again. Gulping, she turned to where Umi and Sakura were walking towards the shore, Funayuurei being pulled from their feet and thrown towards where the water met the land. At the same time, a wind howled and some of them were smashed against the uunforgiving caldera walls and through rubble. "Yeah... I think that might be the understatement of the year."

Getting onto his hands, the leader of the Funayuurei looked around in disbelief. 'What... this is...' It was then he heard the crunch of grave and looked down to find a two pairs of feet there covered in cracked and dirty skin, their nails black. Slowly, he raised his head to find himself staring into the remorseless eyes of the Hitobashira. "You..."

With a motion of their hands, the remaining yokai were jerked into the air and hung there. "We warned you, and you did not listen to us." Around them, the wind kicked up into a gale and the flames hovering around the two ghosts burned more brightly. "Now you shall meet your judgement in the next world."

Before any of them could get a final scream off, the balls of flame shot forward and slammed into them before seeming to burst outwards. Not even ashes and dust remained of the yokai. At that sight, the American ghost from before blinked and then gave the Japanese ones an incredulous stare. "And you bunch thought it a good idea to go and piss them off?"

None of the Japanese ghosts had an answer for that.
________________________________________________________________________

Running along with a frightened Natsumi close behind, Harry ignored the pain from the bruises forming on him as he made his way to where the Twins where. Even from where he was though, he could feel the wind kick up into a gale though, strangely, it only acted as a gentle carress against him and Natsumi. He had just reached the shore when he saw the Funayuurei vanish in bursts of ghostly flame and slowed down as he began to walk towards the two ghost girls standing there. "Umi-San? Sakura-San?"

Both stiffened from where they were. "Harry-San..."

Just shrugging to shake off Natsumi's cautious hand on his shoulder, Harry took another step forward. "Are you two okay?" They shook their heads at that. "You're not hurt, are you?" Once more, they shook their heads and Harry realized that they were turned away from him. "Umi-San, Sakura-San... Look at me."

Their shoulders shaking, they shook their heads. "We... we do not want to. Please..."

Despite what he had just seen, Harry didn't stop walking towards them. "Just look at me."

Moments later, they did so and his eyes widened at the sight of them. At seeing his eyes widen though, both hung their heads and stared down at the ground. "This is why we did not want to act more then we were, Harry-San, Natsumi-Sama. Because when we do, we... transform into these creatures. Our true state of being and we know that we are not what one would like to look at. In fact, we're ugly and terrible to behold."

Quietly, Natsumi nodded as she frowned. Her eyes glanced at the shipgirls watching from a short distance away as well as the fireballs that floated here and there. "I see."

Closing their eyes, the two sniffled as they felt bloody tears drip from their eyes, mixing with the ichor there. "We did not wish for you to see us in this way and... We can understand if you do not want to see us again. Since we have tainted any image you have of us now." They could hear Harry come to a stop in front of them and braced themselves for what may come from him. "Please..."

They expected yells or shouts. Insults about their appearence and hateful words that would likely wound them deeper then any blade. Maybe Harry to hit them for being monsters. Certainly, this is likely the last that they would see any of them again and they would be left alone on their island. Perhaps for another eighty years.

What they did not expect was the two warm arms that threw themselves over their shaking shoulders and drew them into a hug. "Bakas. The both of you are being bakas right now." Raising their heads, they stared as Harry stood there hugging them with a scowl on his face. For a brief moment, they nearly flinched before he spoke again. "Do you really think that I give a bloody heck about what the two of you look like right now?"

Mouths working, the two tried to speak. Tried to say anything in reply to what was happening before finally a single word escaped them. "What...?"

Rolling his eyes, Harry sighed before shaking his head. Then he looked Sakura in the eyes followed by Umi, neither of whom could believe he did so without any reaction. "Do the two of you really think that I would reject you? That I would reject two of my friends?" Seeing how both of them were now crying even more, their lips trembling, Harry reached up with one hand and tried his best to wipe away the ichor and tears of blood under their eyes. "Now, wipe those tears away, okay?"

Harry only watched as the two stared at him in disbelief as he went back to hugging them. Before his very eyes, their transformations reversed and when they spoke, it was in their usual voices. "You... you mean it, Harry-San? You're not disgusted with us?"

Once more, Harry rolled his eyes as he continued to hug them as their appearences became their normal ones. "No, I'm not. Seriously, I got more a problem with you thinking that I would do leave you because of it."

When they turned to Natsumi, she just shrugged. "Harry-Chan's right. And to be honest, I've seen worse... Like my Nii-San when he wakes up after a long night at cram school. Or Oba-Chan after a hard night of drinking." Playfully shuddering, she shook her head. "That's way worse then what you looked like."

Stepping on shore, Tenryuu only scoffed. "They've said it better then what I could. None of us give a shit what you look like when you're being a bunch of badasses. Hell, I'm pretty sure that the rest of the girls would be thankful to have you with our backs."

Behind her, Inazuma nodded along with her sisters. "Yeah, Nanodesu! What Kaa-San said!"

Akatsuki huffed a bit before flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Besides, it would not be very lady-like if we broke up our friendship over something like that. And I'm a real lady!"

For her part, Verniy gave a small smile and tipped the brim of her hat. "Khorosho,"

Jerking her thumb at herself, Ikazuchi gave a grin. "Besides, that was pretty awesome you know? Really awesome."

With a chuckle, Tatsuta shook her head. "Hmm. Well, you do look better then Tenryuu-Chan does at times. Sometimes I think that she has stepped from a horror movie."

Slowly, Tenryuu turned and gave her a look. "Watch it, you."

Ignoring that, Harry smiled up at the twins who turned to him in shock, their eyes now back to normal. "See? We don't have any problems with how you looked. I know that I'll be coming back when I can."

Almost a minute went by before both of them began to cry again, this time normal tears. Then they grabbed hold of Harry and tightly hugged him as they sobbed with the slightly confused boy patting their backs. "Thank you... thank you so much..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Gear-2557

In the Halls of Judgement

Eiki Shiki, Yamaxanadu, one of the (admittedly overworked) Judges of the Dead glared over lip of her mahogany desk at the soul who just ruined her lunch break.

"So," she started off mildly, quickly glancing at the soul's file and the cause of its final termination, "you decided to attack the island guarded by two Hitobashira, 6 Kanmusu, a wizard, a kitsune priestess and an army's worth of restless dead. And the Hitobashira actually asked you to leave, honestly all I really want to know is: why??"

The soul of the former Funayuurei leader shifted nervously before shrugging "Er, it seemed like a good idea at the time?"

"...."

"...."

"....In the immortal words of Alucard: "You don goofed, dumbass."

"So, that means-"

"-Straight to Hell you go!"

Ignoring the screams of the soul as it was dragged to hell with the ease of long practice Eiki pinching the bridge of her nose after swallowing another mouthful of aspirin to try and make her headache go away.

"Jesus Christ, why do they keep sending me the stupid ones during my lunch break. Seriously."

"Your guess is as good as mine Eiki, but did you need me for anything?"

Shooting a quick glare at the young man who had poked his head in her office/judgment room before she redirecting her glare at the meter high stack of paperwork.

"No I didn't Je-" "Please, call me JC." ".....JC, I would however greatly appreciate it if you could talk to your old man into sending some extra help for Peter's department, we're overworked as is. Oh, and another bottle of aspirin, please."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Just shrugging, Harry gave them both a smile as he continued to pat their backs. He really did not understand what the big problem was anyways. "You're both very welcome."

Having seen a slight wince on Harry's face when they tightened the hug, Verniy frowned a bit. "Harry-Chan?"

With a blink, Harry looked over his shoulder. "Yeah, Hibiki-Chan? What is it?"

Eyes narrowing a bit, Verniy walked up and examined him a bit more closely. She noted how the back of his shirt was dirty but there was no, thankfully, visible blood. "Are you hurt, Harry-Chan?"

In reply, Harry's eyes shifted a bit to the side. "Nah, I'm not hurt at all."

That only made Verniy narrow her eyes. But before she could say anything, Sakura spoke up. "Harry-San got knocked to the ground on his back. So he might be slightly hurt."

Natsumi nodded from where she was. "Yeah, he took a bit of a rough tumble there. Also, he's been wincing a bit."

Pouting, the black haired boy gave both girls looks. "Traitors." Suddenly, Verniy reached out with a finger and poked him in one of the dirty spots. "Bloody heck!"

A glare on her face, Verniy raised an eyebrow at him. "Not hurt at all, hm?"

While he grumbled, Tenryuu sighed and then motioned back to the shack. "Let's head back there for now and have a look. You girls don't mind, do you?"

Both ghosts shook their heads and they smiled down at the rest of the group. "We do not mind at all. If you need to, we can supply some light?"

Lips twitching a bit, Tenryuu waved them off. "Nah, no need for that." Reaching into a pocket, she pulled metal cylinder. "I always carry around some small flashlights for stuff like this. Might not look like much, but..." Clicking it on, the Light Cruiser gestured at the light. "It provides plenty of light needed."

Eyes widening, Umi looked more closely at it. "Oh my, it's so small and yet so bright! How?"

Softly chuckling, Tenryuu shook her head. "It uses LEDs, these tiny little light bulbs, to make some light. It's a lot better then some of the stuff that was out when I was a kid and damn useful to have."

There was a snort and they both turned to see the American ghost there, the others eyes widening at being able to see him. "So then, everyone alright and alive at least?" At their nods, he smirked a bit. "Good to hear then. Now that those bastards are gone though, me and the boys are going to head back to where we were. That alright you two?"

Bowing deeply, the Hitobashira nodded. "Yes, thank you."

However, he just waved them off with a chuckle. "Don't sweat it, Little Ladies. Anyways, you need anything just come and ask until we blow this joint. We'll give you a hand at least until then."

With that, the American ghost and those around him faded away until there was just glowing orbs which then drifted off in various directions. Head tilted to the side, Tatsuta gave a small hum at that. "Well now, that was rather interesting."

Eyes wide, Akatsuki only nodded. "Hai, Oba-San!"

Rolling her eyes, Tenryuu gave a sigh and then began to walk towards the shack once more. "Anyways, we should check on Harry-Chan here. Ami-Chan? Contact Nagato and the others and let them know what happened, okay?" At her daughter's nod, Tenryuu smirked a bit and soon enough, they reached the shack. Before they went in though, Tenryuu held up a hand. "Just a moment." To their confusion, she rushed in and then came back out with her phone in hand doing something and the other on her sword. Seconds later, she nodded. "Okay, you know what to do."

Just as they were about to say something, Final Fantasy Victory music drifted out and Tenryuu did several moves with her sword before laying it across her shoulders in a pose. Placing her face in her hands, Ikazuchi groaned. "Really, Kaa-San? Really?"

Simply smirking, Tenryuu looked down at her. "Really, Aki-Chan. Besides, might as well enjoy it, we're living the dream!"

From where she was, Inazuma sighed and shook her head. "Way to be Chunni, Kaa-San."

Close by, Akatsuki slowly nodded with a frown. "Yeah, Kaa-San. That's being really Chunni."

Meanwhile, Harry raised his hand up and snorted. "The level of Chunni in this place is way too damn high." Suddenly smirking, he did a high five with Natsumi. "Check please."

As Tenryuu grumbled and headed back into the shack, Umi and Sakura turned to each other with a frown. "We don't get it."

Patting them on the back, Tatsuta shook her head with a chuckle. "Don't worry about it." She then gestured at the door for Harry. "Anyways, head on inside, Harry-Chan."

Once he was inside, Harry blinked at the stool and then turned to Tenryuu who rolled her eyes at him. "I always carry one of these around just in case. So take a seat and off with that shirt of yours."

It was to that scene that Umi and Sakura walked into. While Verniy and Natsumi barely reacted, having seen Harry without his shirt many times as he grew up, the two ghosts froze in place. Turning to face them, Harry sat down and tilted his head to the side as he realized that both were blushing lightly. "Um, is something wrong?"

Quickly, they shook their heads and waved their hands in the air. "N-no, nothing is wrong, Harry-San. Not at all." Behind them, Ikazuchi grinned and was about to say something when Inazuma sighed and flicked her ear. Not having seen the byplay, the twins drifted a bit closer and glanced at Tenryuu who was using her flashlight to examine Harry's back. Then to his confusion, they glanced down at the floor. "Um, Harry-San? Did you mean what you said? About not caring what we looked like?"

Raising his eyebrows, Harry gave a snort and nodded. "Well, yeah! Like I said, it doesn't matter what you looked like, you're still Umi-San and Sakura-San, two of my friends." He then grinned a bit and began gesturing with his hands. "Besides, you looked awesome! He was all, 'Grrr' and then you went whoosh! And he went flying and stuff. Then he was going to rant or something like a bad guy and you were just 'Nah-uh' and blew him and the others up with a wave of your hands! That was just so cool!"

Now blushing deeply, but smiling, the Twins nodded to him. "Thank you, Harry-San."

Taking a spot nearby in order to give the others more room and moving into a seiza position, Sakura tilted her head as she watched Tenryuu examine Harry while her sister also sat down beside her. Glancing at them, Tenryuu internally snorted as she realized that their eyes were more on Harry. 'Wonder how often they saw a boy close to their age without a shirt.' Then her eye flicked to Harry and she sighed. 'Kid's a damn real life harem protagonist. For fuck's sake.'

Eventually, Harry looked over his shoulder at the Light Cruiser and frowned. "Um, so how does it look? I mean, it feels sort of bruised, but that's it."

With a grunt, Tenryuu stood up and stretched her back some. "Yeah, that's pretty much it. You'll have a nice bruise from the tumble and got a small scrape, but that's about it. Not bad for what happened though and the bruise will mostly vanish if you take a dip in the baths."

Blinking, Umi's head turned to her and there was a confused expression there. "Baths? How would a bath heal him, Tenryuu-Sama?"

Eyebrow raising, Tenryuu considered the question before answering it. "Basically? Kid's biological Okaa-San was a shipgirl and he inherited some stuff. Us shipgirls can heal while taking a bath with this liquid in it and Harry can too, but it doesn't do all that much for him. But it'll take care of those bruises at least and make it like his scrape had a few days to heal instead of a few hours."

As he put his shirt back on, Sakura nodded some with wide eyes. "So, Harry-San's Okaa-San was a Kami? Truly?"

Scratching her cheek, Tenryuu frowned some. "I, uh, don't think that we're actually Kami. At least, I don't feel like a Kami anyways." She then jerked her thumb at herself. "Besides, Kami or not I'm just that awesome. Just look, I managed to take on dozens of yokai just now and destroy them until you helped. Tomoe Gozen, eat your heart out."

Confused, the two ghosts tilted their heads to the side and then turned to Harry. "By the way, Harry-San? Since you have a few days left on your holiday, are you going to visit us again...?"

There was a thoughtful look on Harry's face before he slowly nodded. "Yeah, I think that I can do that. It'll be a few days though as I'll be a bit busy since I'm heading down to Kure tomorrow with Yamato-Oba for Kawa's Awakening ceremony into Yahagi. Then we're heading to Sasebo since Uncle John is getting married to Mutsu-Oba. She is having their child after all."

Eyes widening, the ghosts stared at him and, unknown to him, several spirits outside who were listening in froze. Then Umi cleared her throat. "By Mutsu-Oba... do you mean..."

With a shrug, Harry nodded. "Battleship Mutsu? Hai, that's who I am talking about. She's marrying the American Admiral in charge of Sasebo. Jane's pretty much over the Moon as she's been calling her 'Mutsu-Mama' for years now and this just makes it real."

Very slowly, Umi and Sakura nodded as they shared a look. "Ah, we see..."

A short time later, the two were on the shore watching as Verniy's hull vanished into the night as she left the caldera. For several minutes, there was only the sound of waves against the rocks before Umi looked to her sister. "Sakura-Nee?"

With a blink, Sakura turned to her sister and nodded. "Yes, Umi-Nee? What is it?"

Moments later, a smile bloomed on Umi's face as she gestured towards the entrance to the caldera. "We have such wonderful friends, don't we? Especially Harry-San."

There was a similar smile on Sakura's face as she nodded. "Hai, we got the best of friends."

Both of them continued to smile as they turned and walked back towards their small shack. After all, they had a long day after all and there was much to think about.

 

[darthcourt10]

Shaithan

Princess

The life of an abyssal that managed to survive for longer periods of time was marked by distinct periods. Their base form period, followed by Elite, Flagship, Demon, War Demon and Princess. Jumping up two or more classes at once was rare, it had been known to happen to Abyssals that had lost their former commanders. There were rumblings of a princess in the Pacific that had jumped from lowly destroyer straight up to princess.

In all fairness, Re mused, she was another such a case. Though there was nothing lowly about being a Re-class battleship. Any Re-class was about the pinnacle of abyssal engineering, even the weakest, freshly constructed Re-class girls were a force to be reckoned with.

Currently she was making her way to Hammerfest. She knew they had a small shipgirl base there, a rest stop for the girls patrolling the northermost sea lanes. Usually it was a rather peaceful posting. Usually there wasn't a near-starving Re-class princess inbound.

The trip towards Hammerfest brought back memories for the princess. How her mother did her best to make their fleet into a raiding force, as she saw it as the only way to keep all her girls fed. Their raids on various coastal settlements and isolated islands. Idly she wondered if the people of the Shetlands still remembered her. She fondly remembered the small freighter she had captured near Baltasound. Her sisters and her mother had been overjoyed with the catch. The crew had learned to cooperate quickly enough, she only had to behead four people by backhanding them. Not that the rest had survived once the ship had been emptied of everything her mother and her and her sisters had needed. They had been sent to the bottom near Jan Mayen, vanishing like so many ships did in these early days.

Several hours later the princess stepped on land. She didn't want to risk a seaborne assault, most shipgirl bases didn't expect an attack to come over land, giving a raiding force a small advantage. After all, if all defenses point towards the sea, a lot of them can't be easily or quickly reoriented towards the land.

Once she reached the shipgirl base Hammerfest, she was taken aback. It seemed like fortune smiled upon her. The base was busy with a fight. It sounded like some Ta-class ships were fighting the defenders.

Deciding to not look a gift horse in the mouth, she quickly ripped a hole into the fence near the warehouses and storage area. She needed to be quick, she estimated having at best thirty minutes before she was discovered and she really didn't want to have to break out through the harbor. Especially when she didn't know the abyssals fighting near the harbor. Some princesses did not play well with others at all. To them even fellow abyssals were enemies.

The warehouse was empty of people. It was easy to see why, too. Several shells had impacted in the vicinity, forcing the human defenders into bunkers.

"Let's see," the princess muttered to herself. "Food first, then ammo," she decided.

Nearby massive shelves had dozens of crates filled with canned foods. The princess grinned and opened her first can. "Cabbage rolls," she said with a grin, opening her gullet and devouring the whole can. Necessity won over considerations like knowing what she ate, so heaved one of the crates to a position where her tail could begin devouring canned foods as well, cutting down the resupply time.

Hundreds of cans went down her gullets, filling her stores and giving useful aluminium for plane repairs.

Within minutes, the princess had emptied several crates worth of food and dessert, filling her hold to adequate levels. It would last her a while. And now she had to ponder one question. Continue filling her food holds or look for ammo and fuel storages.

In the end, hunger won over fighting consideration and new crates were opened, their contents devored at a rapid pace.

Her devouring feast was rudely interrupted by a stray shell slamming into the warehouse. And while she wasn't full yet, she realized that getting fuel and maybe ammo would be more important than topping off her food holds right now.

Checking through the office space of the warehouse, she found something useful. A working computer where someone had forgotten to log out. Considering the amount of blood, the princess was quite sure that whoever had worked here wouldn't ever again log in anywhere.

The inventory lists proved very useful. She was in Warehouse 6, which was one of four dedicated to holding canned goods and other foodstuff. Warehouse 2 held various types of ammunition, Warehouse 1 was a storage for equipment and held the experimental laboratory, where equipment was maintained and two girls experimented with upgrading and refining equipment.

Quickly the princess made her way to Warehouse 2 and within she found a cornucopia of ammunition. Rows upon rows of shells, torpedoes, bombs, mines, depth charges and bullets.

The princess began guzzling down the ammo like a starving woman. Seeing the cornucopia had made her realize just how badly depleted her stores were.

With a grin she felt her guns report combat readiness. Now she didn't need to fear an engagement, now she could actively engage. No longer was she forced to rely on the iron reserve of ammo. Her ammo storages filled at a speedy pace, first the 20 mm flak guns, then the 40 mm ones, followed by the 88 mm ones. And weren't those guns a precious sight. Fully automatic dual 88mm flak guns on swivel mounts. The next guns to report peak capacity were her close-in anti-boat weapons, 128 and 155 mm guns. Following that were the dual mount 14" close-in anti-ship-guns. Finally, her main guns reported peak capacity. Four 20" triple mount guns swivelled to and fro. The last ones to report peak capacity were her mine, depth charge, bomb and torpedo holds.

With a happy sigh, the Princess stretched. Now there remained only one thing, finding fuel to enable her to really run. Food was a good substitute and kept her endurance up, but it was fuel that was needed to really run.

Finally, something registered to her ears. An absence of sound. There were no fighting sounds coming from afar. And she felt quite sluggish right now, the last thing she wanted was to fight.

Looking around frantically, her eyes fell upon a panicking man. A man that turned about and ran away when she looked at him.

"God damn it!" she swore, thoroughly unhappy. She needed to get going right now. There wouldn't be any fuel to jumpstart her, it would be a trek through the close-by wilderness towards where she had landed and from where she'd take to the seas again.

Without further ado, she marched forward. Her course was clear, any obstacles in her way would be run over.

Outside, Z-23 looked at her two sisters and some of the British and Norwegian girls that weren't battered after fighting off a rather daring and dare she say stupid raid where 3 Ke-class battlecruisers and 6 Ne-class heavy cruisers as well as 3 Bo-class armored cruisers had attacked. Overall, the fighting force had been fierce, but the Kes and Bos were not exactly suited for protracted engagements with actual battleships. Something that Duke of York and Rodney had demonstrated splendidly when they had sunk the three Bos within five minutes. The Ke-classes had survived longer, but the sheer volume of fire had worn them down. Sure, in the process a lot of the girls assembled here and quite a few other girls had taken a beating, but they had won, save for two Nes, none of the attackers would return home.

Suddenly there was a crashing sound. And judging from where the dust cloud rose, it had been at the other side of the warehouse where the intruder had been reported.

The various girls ran forward, intent on catching the intruder. They had fought off one raiding force, getting another raider would make the evening even better. Plus, from what U-490 reported, someone had devoured a considerable amount of their food stockpile. Now, they could forgive quite a few things. Raiding their proverbial fridge was not among these things.

"Hurry up!" Swiftsure urged. "We're going to get that thief and then we'll give her the pirate treatment!" she continued, running forward at close to flank speed.

The others followed swiftly, the thought of getting whoever ate their food energizing them.

Their energy left them when they saw their enemy. Re-class battleships were more at home in the Pacific, but some of the older girls remembered the Re-class that had operated in these waters so long ago. Others remembered run-ins with the various Re-classes that had operated elsewhere in the Atlantic.

"You still float, little girls?" the Princess asked when laying eyes on several girls she had left for dead.

The various destroyer, destroyer escort and cruiser girls could only stare in mute horror. It was one thing to fight abyssal capital ships when they had capital ships of their own that could do the tanking. Right now however they were looking at a Re-class that had gotten some serious upgrades. The phrase "made out of guns" sprang to mind unbidden and with a vengeance. And she seemed to recognize more than one of them.

Quick hand gestures made by Swiftsure told everyone the plan. They'd have to settle for driving her off.

"Fire at will!" Swiftsure bellowed, watching with glee as dozens of small-caliber guns were brought to bear. It wouldn't kill the Re-class, but it was quite likely to drive her off until such a time that a hunter-killer group could be assembled to deal with her.

The princess looked at the guns brought to bear and decided to retreat. Sure, she would be able to take out a lot of these girls, seeing that they were within mere meters of her. It would take time however, time she quite rightly assumed she didn't have.

Turning about, she began to accelerate, a process made painful by the lack of directly available fuel.

To dissuade the girls from pursing her, she ordered her 88 and 128 mm guns to fire at will. It should lead to enough injuries to force the shipgirls to break off.

The next fifteen minutes were mostly spent exchanging fire. The princess abandoned her initial plan and made a direct break for the sea. Her only real concession to the initial plan being that she didn't try to force the military harbor.

It was with great relief that she finally took to the water. The shipgirls had hounded her every step of the way and she had taken quite a bit of superstructure damage. It wouldn't sink her, but it definitely inconvenienced her. At least she had dished out considerable hurt, more than one of the girls had to break off pursuit with quite grievous injuries.

Still, by the time the fighting died down, several of her rangefinders were damaged and even one main gun turret was out of action. Still, she could write this off for two reasons. One being that she had held back considerably, and two being that she had been caught in literal hand-to-hand fighting range. Creating distance with people became difficult when they were pretty much right on top of you and quite insistent on driving you off via the defeat of a thousand cuts.

She was quite sure that the girls would have tried to get away if she had started fighting seriously, being in close quarters combat with a Re-class was considered downright suicidal for a reason. It was pretty much doubly true for land-based engagements. After all, if the great equalizer carried by smaller girls, the torpedo, was not in play, then only a gunnery duel remained. And even her secondary anti-ship-guns were more than enough to shred any of the girls she had fought. And if she had seen it right, the little destroyer escort she'd faced twice before had survived more dead than alive again.

It was with a seriously aching head that she made best speed for the open sea, looking to vanish into the near endless expanse of the Atlantic. "Damage report!" she requested from her crew, feeling the spectres within her running arround, tallying the damage.

Within minutes, she had a growing list of superficial but qite annoying damage. Nothing that wouldn't heal on its own, but still. Her radar FCS was out for a few days until the radar was repaired. Her optical FCS was damaged, some guns would work only at greatly reduced efficiency until her internal workshops finished building the replacement parts. Still, even with all the damage she took, it had been a success. The damage would be repaired in due time and, more importantly, she was filled up for weeks to come. Enough time to decide her next steps.

With a small smile, she went out into the sea, idly plucking duds from her rigging, watching her spectres work and humming a cheerful tune. It may have been a more violent smash and grab than she had wanted, but this was hardly a bad thing. It made her remember the thrill of battle, the joy of beating down peer opponents. And of course there was the added hilarity of utterly trouncing an opponent. Seeing a truly outclassed opponent reduced to complete combat ineffectiveness within seconds had something downright satisfying.

Looking towards the north, she saw the Northern Star. "Well, old friend, I have changed," she mused out loud. "I wonder where I'll end up next. Maybe it's time to visit the Shetlands again," she continued. Internally she pondered her options. Having daughters didn't appeal to her, not when she couldn't ever introduce them to their aunts and grandmother. Staying completely alone didn't appeal to her, either. Nor did joining another Princess or defecting to the meatbags appeal. "Decisions, decisions," she muttered, peeved that there was no good choice.

Hours passed by, with her listening to various radio stations and the reports from her flights.

The peace of the open waters helped her clear her mind. She would visit the Shetlands, pay respects to where her eldest sister had fallen. Afterwards she'd visit all their targets from the old days where she had lost a sister, paying respect to every sister until she would repeat the assault on Scapa Flow, paying respect to her mother and the remaining sisters that fell there. If she fell there, it would be a fitting end, if she managed to escape, she would re-evaluate her options for the future. But first she needed to pay her respects. Her sisters deserved as much.

Her course of action set, she began planning her route. It would be a long trek, going as far south as Spain and as far north as Greenland. It would be a trip down memory lane, recalling sisters and their antics. Closing her eyes, she began to remember, recalling the fleet formation for that fateful third trip towards the Shetlands. Hunting opportunities in the White Sea and the Barents Sea had had dried up completely, partially due to winter and partially because their operations near the North Cape had pretty much cut the northern sea trade with Russia. Now, from an operational standpoint, this had been a success, but seeing that they lived pretty much hand-to-mouth it had been a disaster for them. And so they had abandoned the North Cape and begun to roam.

With a small smile, she remembered the fleet composition back then, her sisters Hammer, Hatchet and Haken had been in the lead, eagerly scouting. Haken had been the eldest, always trying to act more mature than she was. Behind them, it had been Robbery, Roughness, Roamer, Rocker and Robot, the quintet of overly violent Ro-class destroyers. Behind them Mother had sailed, with her sailing beside her mother, using her planes as advance scouts. The light cruisers Torture and Hellfire had guarded their flanks. They had been followed by Night, Nimbus, Nightmare, Night Terror, Nihilism and Nifelheim who had followed like happy puppies. Behind them, Insidious, Irreverent, Inglorious and Infamy had guarded their rear.

If she concentrated, she could almost hear their excited giggling, their joy and their hope. It had been the first raid where they'd lost one of theirs. It had been bad luck, her eldest sister had had no chance, but still. It had hurt, seeing her explode like that. Hatchet and Hammer had never again been the same. All of them hadn't. In retrospect she could appreciate that it was at this point that Mother realized that she'd need an island base and that losses would mount.

"Maybe," she muttered, pondering what she knew now, but it was only idle speculation. She couldn't change the past, couldn't bring her sisters and Mother back. She could only keep them alive in her mind. Still, a part of her yearned for them, wished so badly to see them again and to roam the seas together with them again.

With a sad sigh, she opened her eyes again, looking out over the cold waters in the dawn's light. It would be a short day and the Shetlands were still quite a bit away. "Haken, I'll visit you," she promised. "I'll visit all of you, my dear sisters."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Snow coming up to her shins, Queen Anne's Revenge puffed out clouds of smoke into the clear and cold winter air from her pipe. Smoke was also coming from her hair as her nearly black eyes went back and forth across what was in front of her with a thoughtful frown. "Hmm..." Hearing the sound of footsteps, she turned and gave a nod to Golden Hind who was approaching. "Ahoy there."

With a twitch of her lips, Golden Hind nodded some. "Good morn to yeh, Anne." Turning, she raised an eyebrow at what she was seeing in front of her. "And what do we have here now?"

Pulling the pipe from her mouth, Queen Anne breathed out a stream of smoke. "Tryin' to find that damned Chamber of Secrets, Golden." As she turned her head, she gave her fellow sailshipgirl a look. "Yeh know as well as I do that the sooner we find it, the sooner we put down that monster. And I would sleep much better knowing that those under my protection are not being threatened no longer."

Golden Hind only nodded as her own eyes roamed over what was in front of her. "Agreed. Though this?"

That only got her a shrug from Queen Anne as the pirate ship narrowed her eyes slightly. "I remembered something that I read in a book." Seeing the smirk, she rolled her eyes. "I can read, Golden. Yeh know that better then anyone..."

Stroking her chin, Golden Hind hummed in thought. "Never said that you couldn't, Anne. Just a bit odd for you in this case. What sort of book gave you this idea?"

Once more, Queen Anne shrugged. "Tis a book about another Scottish castle. It also has a hidden chamber." At the interest, Queen Anne chuckled. "Seems that the lord of said castle left for the day once and his friends wanted ta find the secret chamber. So... while he was out, they went around and hung sheets out of every window knowing that any such place that did not have them, would be the chamber."

Eyebrow raised, Golden Hind turned to Hogwarts which, sure enough, had various sheets hanging from the window. "I see. Interesting idea to say the least I suppose and one with a touch more logic then stumbling around. Though that does beg a question..."

Just snorting, Queen Anne smirked a bit as she knocked the ashes from her pipe and refilled it. "Only one, my friend? Well then, ask away!"

Lips twitching, Golden Hind looked at her with a chuckle. "Wherever did you get enough linen to put some out of every window? I don't believe that there is enough in all of the castle for this." Her voice then turned dry. "And I can see that least one brassier there hanging out the window."

Humming, Queen Anne stroked her chin. "I have my ways. And it is to defend the castle after all, some of those being me own crew's."

Slowly nodding, Golden Hind smirked. "I see. And the brassier?"

In Queen Anne's eyes, there was a twinkle. "What, lass? Yeh don't think that I did not charm some nice lassie out of them then?"

With a snort, the other shipgirl shook her head. "Nay, I know that you didn't my friend. You know the rules that we are under regarding the students."

Only waving her off, Queen Anne chotled. "Ain't nothing against off school grounds you know. And some of them are more then old enough."

However, that just got her a look from Golden Hind. "Anne..."

Queen Anne only made a gesture with one hand. "No fun at all." Her tone then turned solemn as she nodded towards them. "Nay, it was some of the Ravenclaws that donated such for use."

Extremely amused at this point, Golden Hind chuckled. "I see. And would these be the same ones who have given some trouble to a certain First Year that yeh have taken under your wing? Hmm?"

Twinkling in her eyes, Queen Anne winked at her. "Ask me to tell yeh no stories, and I'll tell you no lies. As for our Little Moon, you like her just as much. And besides, they did lock her out."

While nodding, Golden Hind shook her head. "Their Head of House already took care of it you know."

All Queen Anne did though was shrug at that. "Aye, and? Let this be a lesson to stick then." Her eyes then darkened a touch. "If I had not been on patrol and found her, she might have spent a cold night somewhere. Thankfully, there be plenty of room in our crew quarters at this castle for her and it was plenty warm. Still... back in the day..."

Ignoring the tone, Golden Hind began examining the school. "So have you found the chamber from here? Because frankly, it is colder right now then a witch's tit in a bronze brassiere. Which considering that this is a school of magic says something."

On Queen Anne's face there was a thoughtful look as she pointed at various spots. "Don't rightly know. But there's some spots where no linens can be seen. Now, whether that is our chamber or mayhaps yet more hidden rooms and passages, I cannot say. Still, it gives us a starting point to explore."

Both of them blinked though as a voice right behind them spoke up. "Actually? None of those are the Chamber of Secrets."

Whirling around, both pirate ships narrowed their eyes at the young woman behind them. Most would have mistaken her for being a student at Hogwarts. However, neither Queen Anne's Revenge nor Golden Hind were most people. Both of them, while not memorizing faces exactly, were good enough to know who was a student at Hogwarts or a staff member. And the young woman in front of them?

She was neither.

Just the same though, the two pirates could tell that she was not what she seemed and something more. With a narrowed gaze, Golden Hind swept off her hat. "Milady, it would seem that you have us at odds. May we know your name?"

Chuckling, the young woman shook her head in amusement. "My name? Well, it should be rather obvious after you stuck linen out of various holes of mine."

Eyes widening as it clicked why she seemed familiar, but they could not recognize her, Queen Anne suddenly grinned. "Well, I'll be. You're Hogwarts, or rather her spirit I assume." At Hogwarts' raised eyebrow, the sailshipgirl snorted. "It not be the first time that we came across something like yeh. And will not be the last."

As Hogwarts nodded, both Golden Hind and Queen Anne bowed. "Perhaps you should tell me of such people at some point?"

Smiling, Golden Hind gave a small bob of the head. "T'would be our pleasure, milady. But at the moment I think that there is something else to discuss. About what you told us when you spoke up."

Expression becoming grim, Hogwarts sighed. "Yes, well... I can tell you that none of those places you have just found is the Chamber of Secrets. Now, where it may be and what it contains... I do not know. Salazar, curse him, hid such things from my magic. I am blind to both it and the creature it contains even as it roams my halls."

There was a grimace on Queen Anne's face as she considered what she had just been told. "Was afraid of that. Though that does explain some things such as why the portraits seem not to see anything. Can yeh tell us anything though?"

Giving it some thought, Hogwarts frowned before slowly nodding. "I think that I can... Salazar spent a lot of time down below. I think that if the entrance is anywhere, it would be either main floor or below. Granted, that could be due to others avoiding him since while some comment on Severus' issues resulting from being above potions all the time, at least he bathes each day. Salazar had to be forced to do so once a month at least."

Nose winkling, Golden Hind shook her head. "I see... and the others? Did they have their own chambers?"

Softly snickering, Hogwarts grinned at her. "Oh, they had their own studies and such. Godric was the one responsible for all the passages besides the one by the Whomping Willow. According to him it was not a magic castle without secret rooms and passages. Helga? Everyone sees her as a plump soul who was loyal and fond of work. It never got recorded how much she liked to visit taverns and start fights. A real lady of class, if you will. Rowena? She created the Room of Requirement on the seventh floor since one would need to be intelligent to find it. I still say that the Sorting Hat has a crush on her after all these years..."

That only got her raised eyebrows from the two shipgirls in front of her, though both of them were highly amused by what they had just heard.